


Without Words

by DarkHorseAsh



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Anxiety, Implied/Referenced Torture, More characters will come later, Mute Percy, Muteness, Nightmares, Panic Attacks, Past Abuse, Past Child Abuse, Percy is not Ok, Torture, vox machina - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-12
Updated: 2019-08-21
Packaged: 2020-03-01 07:53:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 22,650
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18796132
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DarkHorseAsh/pseuds/DarkHorseAsh
Summary: Vex finds a broken, mute Percy in a jail cell.  Some things change, while others stay the same.





	1. It Begins

**Author's Note:**

> I really shouldn't be starting another fic when I'm already 7k words into a very ooc autistic Taryon piece and need to finish my nott and molly one, but this idea would Not leave me alone and so here it is. I was sort of intrigued by the idea of Percy breaking a little differently when his family died and he ran, so....here's the first chapter of that. I'd say more is coming soon, which it Probably is, but I don't want to lie if I don't manage to write more for a bit so I'll just say...maybe? I'd also note that Percy is probably slightly younger than in canon in this, maybe 18/19, because...I said so, I guess.

The moment she feels herself hit the ground of the cell, Vex is cursing loudly.  She knows that Vax will probably be there to break her out within two days, but she can’t stop the increasing level of irritation in her chest because this was  _ so  _ his fault.  She pulled herself to her feet, giving a grumbled  _ “My brother is an irritating little piece of shit and he owes me for at least a week. _ ” before turning to survey the cell she had been so unceremoniously dumped into.  It was then, as her eyes flickered over the dim shape, that she caught sight of a bundle of rags and person curled up in the far corner of the room.  “Hello there.” If the person was alive, they showed no signs of it, not even twitching as she spoke. Shrugging, Vex retreated to the other corner of the cell, keeping her curious eyes on the bundle, which had  _ bright  _ white hair that seemed stained with blood.

 

She dozed.  While the cell was uncomfortable, she had a cot at least.  She wondered why the man, for she thought it was a man, was on the ground not up here.  The cell was at least more relaxing than chasing her brother down the street after he’d tried to rob the wrong person, and it was certainly more relaxing than the light beating two of the guards had given her.  The figure was alive, she had determined that much because at one moment she’d fallen with a thud due to her throbbing ankle and the bundle had  _ jerked  _ away from her.  

 

It was probably night, but in the dark cell, it was hard to tell.  She was dozing, not willing to be fully asleep with as many guards as she had seen walking around, because her brother was  _ definitely  _ on his way to be a moron and he might need a hand.  She was slipping in and out of sleep when a frantic noise from the far side of the cell drew her attention.  The man was sitting upright and, in the barely-there light, she could see the shutters running through him. Soft gasps met her ears,  _ very  _ similar to the noises she had heard her and her brother make on the worst of their mornings.  “Darling, are you alright?” 

 

As if a switch had been flipped, the figure went absolutely still, as if he could disappear from her gaze.  She moved, slowly, towards him, consciously making each step loud enough that she knew he would hear her coming.  “It’s alright, darling.” She glanced up, counting the minutes until the next guard rotation because she knew how badly the guards treated people to begin with.  She was certain that a sign of weakness, because that was what  _ they  _ would see this as, would not be accepted.  “It’s alright. I’m just going to come sit near you, alright?” 

 

He wasn’t alright, that much was clear.  As she settled down a few feet away, the little things she noticed sent a pang into her chest.  He was  _ shockingly  _ pale, clearly emaciated under the thin blanket tangled over his shoulders.  There were cuts littering the bits of his skin that she could see, but the worst part was his  _ eyes.   _ They were a beautiful bluish-grey, but they were so full of fear that Vex was certain he couldn’t look more afraid if she’d put one of her brother’s daggers to his throat.  She settled in a few feet away, unmoving, and just let him not be alone for a moment.

 

She woke up to sunlight streaming in the tiny window.  The man was gone, and that sent a bit of worry that she hadn’t expected up her spine.  She moved back to the bed, tugging off her armor since it was starting to get very, very uncomfortable.  There was a small tray of food on the floor and she didn’t hesitate to dig in. She was halfway through the meager dry bread and disgusting gruel when she paused, realizing that there was  _ one  _ tray and she wasn’t sure if this was for both of them or just for her.  For a moment, she wasn’t even sure she cared, but it was hard to block out the  _ terror  _ that she’d seen in his eyes and so she shoved the bread into a pocket and wrapped the gruel up before doing the same with that.  

 

The guards returned a few hours later, hurtling the man into the back corner before taking the tray instantly.   She waited for them to be gone, then waited another 10 minutes, before making her move. “Darling, I saved you some food.”  Pale eyes flickered up to her face, and she realized this might be the first time he’d actually reacted to her. That was progress, and so she pulled out the bread and gruel and passed it over, somewhat concerned at the way he literally scarfed it down.  She passed her waterskin over, too, leaning back against the wall.

 

“What’s your name?”  She was unsurprised, though somewhat frustrated, by the silence that followed.  “I don’t want to press you, but I did just give you food so...I would appreciate an answer on what to call you.”  she glanced to the side, surprised at the raw frustration and terror on the thin figure’s face. “You don’t  _ have  _ to, darling, you can tell me if I’m being too pushy.”  the boy gave a frustrated growl, hauling himself onto shaking legs and nearly falling so fast she surged up to catch him.  “Easy, easy.” 

 

He was  _ so tired  _ and he didn’t have a way to tell her and he didn’t even have a way to tell her that he  _ couldn’t  _ tell her his own name.  His body shook as she curled him into her chest, and he was torn between wanting to get her to hold him and never let go and wanting to get as far away as humanly possible.  He managed a deep, throaty whine, clinging to her arms as she helped him to the bed. He didn’t have the words to say that he didn’t deserve it, so he just leaned against the wall and let her hands touch his shoulders and let him _ hate  _ himself for wanting it.  He didn’t deserve it, he knew it, and he was still letting her do it and that made him  _ bad terrible evil cursed  _ but it didn’t matter because he was already awful and her hands were kinder than anything he had felt in a very long time.  One of his hands came up to wrap over hers, pressing his thumb into the back of her hand as he slowly spelled out “I’m sorry.”  

 

Vex was...confused.  Her cellmate was alternating between pressing into her hands and curling away, with a kind of franticness that made her want to  _ kill  _ whoever had hurt this boy.  He looked young, despite the white hair, but he just curled near her silently and she was  _ so confused.   _ A thin finger rubbed against the back of her hand down and around, down and curled, over and over,  until she blinked and then she  _ got it.  _

 

“You can’t tell me, can you?”  dull eyes locked on her face at the slight shake of his head and she sighed, wrapping a hand around the man’s shoulder and letting him lean into her side.  “It’s alright, darling, Can you do that again?” She watches the finger tracing over her hand carefully. “Ok...that’s a P? And an E?” A slight nod, and his finger kept going, doing each letter a few times.  “Percy.” the hand fell silent against her own, eyes filling with fear as he nodded. “Percy. Ok then. It’s nice to meet you, Percy.”

 

She thinks that it’s been close to 39 hours.  Percy is slumped against her side, clearly exhausted and injured, as one of her hands traces the back of his neck.  She’s humming something soft and elven and he shakily joins in for a moment before letting it drop off and curling closer.  The young man has shifted between shaking in terror as far from her as possible and practically being in her lap, long fingers clinging to her wrist.  She wasn’t entirely sure what the  _ reason  _ was, but she was pretty sure that he was  _ not  _ ok.  “Darling, are you alright?”  A tiny shake of a head and he flinches away, huddling against her knees.  “I know, darling. My brother is coming, I promise.” One of the boy’s hands curled up and she blinked, remembering once when she had seen someone signing in Syngorn.  “Percival, darling, do you know sign language?” 

 

He flushes, curls away, ducks his head into her side with a shiver and she doesn’t really understand why.  He gives a tiny nod, eyes wide and she vaguely realizes that he thinks she’s going to  _ hurt him.   _ She freezes, hand moving slowly to run over the back of the young man’s neck, eyes softening.  “Darling. I’m not going to hurt you, alright? I have no intention to ever hurt you, and I certainly won’t hurt you for something like that!  Can you teach me a little?” He seemed to perk up, eyes brightening a little as he sat up to sit across from her. “How do you say yes?” The boy tilts his head for a moment before nodding, and Vex breaks into laughter.  Percy grins, too, small but there, and finally acquiesces and actually shifts his hands into the sign. 

She’s always had a good memory and, by the third time he’s spelled out the letters, she can slowly copy.  Percy’s eyes are bright and eager as he slowly spells out “Percy” and she repeats it back. He relaxes, slumping to his side and curling up on the cot.   She settles in nearby, head resting on her arms as she falls asleep to the sound of water dripping in the corner of the cell and her own knowledge that her brother  _ had  _ to be close.

 

She wakes up to her brother kneeling over her with a tired grin on his face.  “Hey, stubby. Let’s blow this joint.” She grins and grabs his arm, letting him tug her up.  “Took you long enough, Vax’ildan!” he rolls his eyes good-naturedly, making sure she’s steady before he backs up and glances at the bundle of human on the cot.  Vex hunches down, knowing full well that Percy was awake as she offered out a hand. “Come on, darling, you want to get out of here?” His eyes brighten and he dips his head, shakily grabbing her forearm and leaning heavily on both as they started towards the door of the cell.

 

Later, once they’ve found their things and made it out to the woods, where they can’t be tracked and won’t be chased, he’s curled up with his head on one of Trinket’s paws and her brother comes to find her.  “So what, you found another trinket?” He teases, and she can’t help but smile slightly. “You wouldn’t have left him there, either.” He shrugs, knowing she was probably right. “I would’ve killed them all if I’d seen him before I got in.  Kid’s a mess.” She hums in agreement, leaning into his side. “Our kind of mess, though. He can stay with us, for a while at least.” She dips her head in agreement, shifting to lay more comfortably so she could get some sleep. “For a while, at least.”  


	2. Of Giant Rats

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Not nearly enough conversations are had. Then, enter giant rats.

The morning after, he sits against a tree with some scraps of metal on his lap and his head bent forward, damaged Tinker’s Tools on his lap as he worked silently.  Vex was out hunting for breakfast, so Vax pulled himself up and moved to sit next to the other man, who glanced up at him before curling a hand protectively over his work.  Vax softened, lifting both hands for a moment. “I’m not going to take your...what is that?” Percy tilts his head for a moment before looking away and going back to what he’s doing.  Vax settles in, leaning against Trinket with a small smile as he waits for his sister to return.

 

Vex comes back with half a dozen rabbits and somehow bread.  Percy glances over and amusement flickers over his face at the sight of the bread, hands moving slowly.  Vex grins back, responding “No, Percival, I didn’t catch bread out in the forest I bought this.” Vax grabs one of the rabbits and starts skinning, grimacing as the blood gets all over his hands and the ground.  Percy gives a slight noise at the sight, curling away and switching to sitting with his back to the scene, head bent close to the weapon in his lap as his cleaning sped up.

 

They keep moving, not wanting to stick too close to the prison they had broken into and escaped from.  Percy goes out hunting with Vex, sometimes, his quick hands good at setting snares. He not a great shot with Vex’s bow and all he has himself is a dagger, but she never seems to mind and he likes that.  Vax sticks to the cities near their campsites, coming home with bronze or silver coins or bits of food and scraps that he’d “found.” He still wasn’t really sure what to do with this shaky, nervous human his sister had brought home.  Percy was clearly uncomfortable near him, and so he felt no particular inclination to go near the boy.

 

They make it two weeks without real trouble.  They live on coins that Vax steals and whatever Vex and Percy can catch in the wilderness and they make it, slowly.  The twins sleep in a pile. Percy sleeps curled on the other side of the fire, most nights, or with Trinket on the nights where he’s cold and tired and just  _ done.   _ He carefully ignores the nights one of their screams yank him roughly from his own sleep, and they do the same for him.  He doubts that it is a healthy system, in fact he’s sure it’s  _ not,  _ but it works.  And they make it, slowly.  

 

Two and a half weeks after they break Percy out of the cell, they get a job.  Vax comes back with a grin on his face despite the weariness in his eyes and he settles down next to the fire.  “Vex, we’ve got a job. There are giant rats that need clearing out of a storehouse.” Vex gives a delighted noise, but Percy tilts his head in confusion and raises his hands for a question and Vax realizes they haven’t worked a job since he’d joined them.  They hadn’t even been to a city. As they start towards the city, Percy seems to be getting stiffer and stiffer, wide eyes flickering around the forest as if he expected someone to jump out and grab him.

 

They’re a quarter mile out when Vex falls back and settles in next to him.  “Darling, what’s wrong?” She reaches for his shoulder and Percy goes perfectly still, standing silently as she reaches for him.  She can see something akin to  _ terror  _ on his face so she freezes, slowly pulling her own hand back.  “Darling, I’m not going to hurt you. What’s wrong?” Percy shakes his head, scooting a few steps back with both hands up,  eyes wide as one hand signed a frantic “Sorry, I’ll go, didn’t mean to.” Vex steps forward, gently cupping Percy’s hands in her own, eyes wide with concern and confusion.  “Percy, we aren’t going to make you go.” Vax’s voice is rough with confusion. Percy ducks his head down, still curled away from them as he shakily signs “I. Thought you were only letting me stay till you could leave me somewhere.  Here. A city.” 

 

Vax exchanges a look with Vex, and she moves slowly forward, grasping Percy’s hands and not letting him wriggle away.  “Percival.” That draws his attention up and he looks back at her, not quite meeting her intense gaze. “We would  _ never  _ make you leave.  I’m sorry if we didn’t make that clear, darling.  You can stay with us as long as you like.” Percy shoots a wide-eyed look at Vax, who dips his head in agreement with what his sister had said.  Vax didn’t really know the human at all, even after 2 weeks, but he’d never been able to deny his sister anything and this was no exception. “I mean, if it turns out you secretly want to murder us I might have some words, but I don’t want you to leave, darling.”  Vex’s voice is firm.

 

Percy’s eyes are locked on Vax and they look absolutely begging. Vax steps forward, reaches a hand up to curl it around Percy’s and his sister’s hands.  “Freddie, I have no intention of making you leave.” his voice is firm but the thread of kindness in it is evident and Percy can’t hear any lying in it and that’s when he breaks, tears running silently down his cheeks as he tries to turn away from them.  Vex gives a sharp, worried noise, pulling Percy forward into her arms as best she can and Vax awkwardly crouches alongside them, hand on the younger man’s back. 

 

“It’s alright, darling.  I know you’re tired and overwhelmed.  I know. But you’re safe with us, alright?  At least, you’re as safe as we are which isn’t always that safe.  We’ve got you, darling. You’re one of us now, alright? For as long as you want to be.”  She’s never been as bad at  _ people  _ as her brother is and it seems to work because Percy slumps in their grasp, curling between the two half-elven bodies and letting them hold him close and tell him they’re not leaving.  He’s not sure he  _ believe  _ it, he’s almost certain he doesn’t, but he doesn’t care.  He wants to believe it and right now, that’s enough. 

 

Percy stands 2 feet behind Vax as they enter the town.  He’d be amused at the idea that someone else is more uncomfortable with people than he is, if not for the fact that Percy looked so genuinely worried. “Relax, Percy.  We’re just clearing out some rats just..stick behind me and Vex and you’ll be fine.” Percy pulls his knife from his belt, balances it carefully in his hands, and follows.

 

Giant rats, as it turns out, are really bloody big and when they bite you it  _ hurts.   _ Vax is trying to keep 8 of them down and off of him as he does his best to dodge the bites.  One of the rats surges up and grabs his shoulder, and he’s promptly sprayed in the face with blood as his sister’s arrow buries itself in the creature’s neck.  Behind him, Percy has his dagger buried in the chest of one of the rats. They’ve all got cuts and bruises but they’re doing alright, until Percy gives a howl and smacks at his shoulder just as Vex call “left!”  Vax spins, eyes locking on a huge rat-like creature bearing down on them. He stumbles back to his feet, trying to kick off the smaller rats that remain and get out of the way. 

 

Vex’s shot flies wide and she curses, reaching back for another arrow.  Vax stands taller, trying to keep Percy behind him. The creature launches at his chest, teeth surging towards his throat, and then there’s a deafening bang and it falls limp.  Vax presses a hand to his ear, which now  _ hurts _ , and spins around to stare at Percy.  The pale figure was holding a strange metal contraption that the twins had often seen him tinkering with in one hand, eyes wide.  Vex’s arrow pierces the last rat that was grabbing at them and it falls, before slowly approaching the duo. Percy hasn’t moved, standing perfectly still under Vax’s eyes, which spot the nervous trembling of his shoulders.

 

“Percival?”  Vex’s call seems to jerk him back to life and he turns slowly, eyes wide as he slips the weapon back into his belt.  Vex trots forward quickly, wrapping her hands around his and tugging Percy forward into her arms. He shutters and tucks his face into her neck and holds on, shivering violently in her grip.  Vax comes up behind them, eyes wide with concern as he wraps his arms around both of them.

 

Later, once they’ve been paid and bought food, they get a place at the inn.  The innkeep pretends not to notice the very large bear stumbling up the stairs, and Vex slips him an extra two coins.  The food is simple but delicious and the twins stumble up the stairs, somewhat drunk and with stomachs full of warm food.  Percy, who had studiously been not-drinking, watches them long enough to make sure they make it to the bed and take their boots off.  He goes to curl up with Trinket, trying to let the warmth of the bear’s fur chase away the dull terror in his bones. 

 

He woke up gasping, unsure of what had roused him.  Trinket was curled almost entirely around him, and it was cozy, but vaguely claustrophobic.  He carefully slips out of the bear’s grasp, ignoring Trinket’s whine behind him, and stands in front of the window.  Cool wind whips against his skin but he doesn’t even really notice, head bent forward.  _ They know you’re a monster now.  You should go before they make you.   _ His whine catches in his throat and he presses a hand to his mouth, stifling a cry.  Trinket slips up behind him, nuzzling gently at his hand with his muzzle. Percy nods, following the bear back to their spot and leaning against his side.  He settles down with his gun in his lap and cleans it until the tremor in his hands subsides and he slips into sleep.

He wakes up to Vax and Vex arguing.  It’s somewhat reassuring, because this is how he wakes up  _ most  _ days; the twins argue a lot.  He’s still not entirely sure  _ why  _ they argue so much, but they do.  Vax is slicing bread and it smells  _ delicious,  _ which he figures is probably why he woke up.  Vex smiles in his direction and he stands, stumbling tiredly over to curl up nearby.  The cuts from the day before ache, but Vax is grinning and fairly alive. “Percy, what was that thing you used yesterday?”  Percy flushed with fear, ducking his head down, and Vax’s voice softened. “Did you make it? That was wicked cool.” Percy froze, dipping his head slowly forward as he nods.  

 

“It is a.  Gun. I made it.”  He signs slowly. He waits for them to ask the questions he doesn’t want the answer, isn’t even sure he can answer, but they don’t come.  Vax just rests a hand on the back of Percy’s and grins. “Well, thanks for making it, saved my ass yesterday. I appreciate it.” Percy blinks up, searching for a lie on his new friend’s face but unable to find it.  “You are welcome.” 


	3. Enter a Squirrel

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Keyleth finally arrives (albeit for a very short time, she'll be in more of the next chapter). This is going to sort of follow Cannon but there are definitely going to be differences (For instance, Vax is living and I don't care what anyone thinks about it I refuse to kill him).

They grow together, slowly.  Percy sleeps on their side of the fire now, curled up against Trinket’s side or, more rarely, near them.  He sleeps better, sometimes; there are nights he doesn’t wake up screaming himself hoarse or frozen in so much fear that he can’t breathe.  There are still nights he does, but he considers the addition of better nights to be an accomplishment. He hears them having nightmares, sometimes, as he lays curled in his bedroll, and he wonders what they dream of.

 

They stop by a town and Vex walks with purpose towards the clothing store.  She’s been desperate to buy Percy some new clothes for  _ weeks;  _ he was still wearing the rags that he’d been in when he’d escaped the prison with them.  She went for the same things that she and her brother wore; loose black pants, sturdy boots, a black tunic, and a warm cloak.  She dragged him with her and Vax trailed behind them looking bemused, having been through  _ many  _ of his sister’s shopping days himself.  

 

Percy has never been through shopping with Vex before so he was...overwhelmed, a bit.  He grinned slightly as he watched her bartering over the price of the clothes she had  _ insisted  _ he buy.  She ducked around the little town with practiced ease, distracting a store clerk long enough for Vax to slip a bag of rations and two healing potions into his pockets.  He approached the counter slowly with his own bag. He’d been saving for a new set of Tinkerer’s tools and he carefully set them on the counter, watching the shopkeep intently as the man sized him up.  “Well? What do you want, boy?” Percy jerked his head at the tool pouch that he’d put out, keeping his head down as he carefully set the 25 gold that the tag said on the counter. 

 

The sneer hadn’t left, and he knew it wouldn’t.  He just wanted to buy this and get out of here but he’d been like this for a long time.  He knew how it worked. A sharp finger grabbed his jaw and he jerked back, hands up. “Look at me when I’m talking to you, boy.  I said what do you want. It’s considered polite to  _ respond  _ when someone talks to you, brat.”  He could hear Vex behind him, and he slumped against her hands as she nudged him backwards into her brother.  Vax’s grip on his elbow was warm but he barely noticed as he blinked, realizing they were out on the street once more.

 

He lets Vax lead him back to their camp without putting up any kind of fight.  He’s still against his friend’s side, hands resting silent. He leans into Vax’s side the moment they reach the camp and Vax eases himself to sit, against a tree, letting Percy slump down with him.  “Easy, darling. You didn’t do anything wrong.” He soothes awkwardly, wrapping an arm around the incredibly pale human and rubbing his hand gently over his back. “You’re alright. You’re fine. Vex is gonna give that guy a piece of her mind and grab whatever that thing was that you were getting.  What  _ was  _ it?”  He’s not really expecting a response and Percy’s hands don’t rise to give one, so he just keeps talking.

 

Percy doesn’t stir, not till Vex reaches the clearing and crouches in front of them.  Her eyes are kind but worried as she rests her hand against his cheek, letting the exhausted-looking man tuck his head into her neck and hold on for a few moments before he slowly relaxed.  Vax shares a worried look with her, grabbing his waterskin. Vex sets down her bag, pulling out their purchases. Percy reached out slowly for the tools, eyes hesitant as she carefully handed them to him.  “There you are, darling. Those look much better than your last set.” Percy dips his head in agreement, eyes blank with exhaustion as he settles in between the half-elves and closes his eyes.

 

He wakes screaming himself hoarse.  His eyes are wild, darting around forest frantically until they land on the faces of the dozing half-elves, who are sleeping curled up together a few feet away.  He stands silently, torn between running to their side or curling up where he was or running away, somewhere he wouldn’t get them hurt just by  _ being there.   _ He wasn’t sure how long he stood motionless, white hair reflecting the firelight, before it was decided for him.

 

“Percy?”  He didn’t even see Vax get up but the half-elven man is in front of him now, hand on his shoulder, eyes concerned.  “Percival, you ok?” His lack of response was clearly worrying the man but he didn’t have the words as he leaned frantically forward.  Vax seems to get it, grabbing the shivering boy and hauling him into his chest, murmuring gently in elven. “Alright, Percy, ok, you’re alright.  Come lay down with me and Vex, hm? You’re not alone.” Percy gives a soft dip of his head and Vax turns, keeping an arm around his waist as he guides Percy to lay down between him and Vex.  Vex rolled over, a question on her face, but Vax gives a small shake of his head and so she nods, reaching over to wrap herself around both of them. Percy gave a delighted hum, snuggling into their grip as he closed his eyes and settled down to sleep.

 

They don’t talk about it.  They keep moving, bouncing from town to town and doing whatever kind of small jobs they can do.  They never stay for long, but they make a little coin and what they don’t make Vax can steal or Vex can barter for.  They sleep in a pile near Trinket most nights, now, with the warmth of the bear keeping them warm through the cooler nights and the warmth of each other keeping the worst of the nightmares away.  Percy is happy, he thinks, with this strange little family in the middle of nowhere. 

 

It’s Vax who comes back with a story about children being sacrificed to a cursed swamp.  Vex is sitting near the fire trying to teach Percy how to braid her hair, which is going  _ spectacularly  _ poorly because she keeps moving to try and see it so she can explain it and he keeps having to lightly wack her on the shoulder so she’ll stay where she is.  Finally he gives up, stalks to her other side, and signs a quick “Had sisters. Know how to braid.  _ Sit.”   _ Vex laughs softly but nods, settling down and letting him work.  “I didn’t know you had sisters, darling. How many do you have?” Percy freezes, hand stuttering for a moment before turning back to the braiding.

 

Vex didn’t know what she’d said but she knew she’d done  _ something  _ so the moment Percy’s hands tied off the braid, she turned to face him.  He had his head down, studiously studying the ground. She swung her braid over her shoulder with a gentle smile, wrapping one hand over his.  “It looks lovely, thank you, Percival. You’re nearly as good as my brother.” Percy flushed and smiled, dipping his head slightly before going to lean against Trinket and clean his guns.  He moved slowly, looking fairly relaxed as he worked, until Vax scrambles into their campsite with a bag of food and a story about children being lost.

They can’t say no.  Vex pesters Vax about how much they’d been paid but he pointedly ignored it.  Percy didn’t care, stalking quietly after the twins as they moved towards the swamp.  He wasn’t nearly as quiet as Vax was, but if he moved slowly enough he was generally able to not be spotted.  He pulled his hood up and his cloak tighter around his shoulders, eyes careful. It had been maybe 4 or 5 months since the cell and he’d put on a little weight, though all three were still too thin. They’ve never seemed to care that he’s never said a word; Vex’s fingers will move almost as fast as his these days, and Vax can keep up a conversation.  It’s incredibly useful in card games or spying missions, to be able to communicate without having to  _ say  _ a word.   

 

He sees the baby thrown and it’s only Vax’s grip on his wrist that keeps him from lunging out to shoot.  He dips his head in understanding, clinging tightly to his gun in case a threat emerged towards them but, after a moment, the swamp once again sat silent and still.  He let them slip out first, keeping his eyes on the spot where the hands had come up so he could be ready if they reemerged. “Percy, have you ever seen anything like this?”  He gives a sharp shake of his head, eyes careful as he raises a hand to spell out “No, but...not curse.” 

 

They move slowly.  Vex is confident in the wilderness, but Percy and Vax have always been better suited for the city and it shows.  “Noble-born don’t grub around in the swamp chasing after a swamp- god curse.” Vax grumbles, and Percy gives a near-hysterical laugh.  The twins glance back at him in concern but he waves it off, giving another scan of the swamp in front of them as he clumsily scrambled over a log.  

 

He sees Vax go under the water and spins, firing his gun at the same time that Vex released her bowstring.  The shark launched itself up and he fired again, bullets piercing the tough hide alongside the arrows. Vax launched himself up from the water to slit the throat of the fish-man-looking creature before flopping into the water just before they reached his side.

 

Vax is bleeding slightly, but it’s not awful, and Percy’s hands bandage it quickly.  Vex keeps watch, explaining the history of the shark-speakers to a very interested Percival.  He spotted the squirrel first, subtly signing “There” to Vex and tilting his eyes at it before the creature changed, elongating into a thin red-haired woman with kind eyes and everything changed once more.  


	4. A meeting.  A kidnapping.  A meeting, again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is basically just a very short summary of the comic series with an insert of Percy. And lots of angst that is as-yet unresolved.

Percy mostly hides behind a still-bleeding-a-bit Vax as the girl examines the fish-person’s body.  She sounds...naive, at best, but there’s no malice in her voice and that lets him relax a little. She was mentioning the curse and he could  _ see  _ the others perk up, even though they quickly tried to act like they hadn’t.  And then her fingers were on Vax and he had his gun back up, eyes bold. Her eyes flickered to him and she tilted her head.  “Whos the scary one?” Vex gave an amused huff, shifting to stand nearer to them. “This is Percy.”

 

Squirrel-girl leaves, which was...partially good, because he could see Vax was getting annoyed, but also kind of bad because she’d seemed nice and she could heal people which was a very useful skill that the rest of them  _ severely  _ lacked.  Then they were being jumped in an alleyway and he was fighting back-to-back with Vex, firing off shots as Vax launched himself into the fray.  They all ended up a little more bruised than they’d been before, but the adrenaline of a good win left them smiling as they retreated back to their campsite for the night before they tried to find the druid in the morning, something it was clear that neither twin was really looking forward to.

 

He’s not sure  _ why  _ they’re in the sewers if he’s being completely honest.  Vax had dragged them down there at the crack of dawn to...watch people walk past and sit in some incredibly foul-smelling places.  He was silent, as Vex grumbled and whined about the scent next to him, eyes watching intently. 

 

The guards were a...surprise, especially when they started hurtling fire and ice in their directions, but he and Vex dispatched of them very easily.  “Good.” He signed, eyes bright. “They are bad.” Vex hums in agreement as the two fall into stride next to each other, eyes scanning the surroundings as Vax darts through the shadows being his usual ridiculous self.  Bursting into a lab isn’t exactly something they do on a regular basis; they deal more with issues like rat infestations or a rogue dire wolf in the forest. He’s firing shots out at the gnome and goliath from behind Vex when the shouts draw all five of their attention to the door.

 

They fight.  They lose. Sort of.  They’re alive, at least, and he thinks that’s an accomplishment as he stands just behind Vex as everyone introduces themselves.  “This is Percival Fredrickstein von Musel Klossowski de Rolo the Third.” The others blink at them for a moment before the Dragonborn, Tiberius, blurts out “What, is he too challenged to speak himself?”  Percy gives a furious noise, hand twitching toward his belt, but they  _ need  _ these people and so he keeps his fingers well away from the gun.  He wants to sign a response to Vex, it’s cutting and angry, but then they’d see and they’d know for sure and he doesn’t want to deal with more  _ comments  _ from the dragon-man and so he doesn’t.  

 

He watches Vax as the Gnome goades him, stepping in front and nudging his friend back before  _ he  _ did something stupid.  He kept an eye on Vex’s hands to make sure her bow wasn’t pulled back again.  He shifts so Vax is blocking him and signs “don’t trust them.” Vex dips her head in agreement and, within seconds, they’re back into the darkness. He pretends not to notice the way the druid is watching his hands with something like interest in her eyes and just focuses on  ignoring the throbbing ache in his bones and putting one foot in front of the other. 

 

And then Vax is gone.  He’s a moment too late as he lunges for him, letting out a strangled cry as his fists strike the mirror next to Vex’s.  She’s shaking, screaming Vax’s name in a way that will give away their position to  _ every  _ enemy and he doesn’t care as he lets himself wrap around her, holding each other for a few desperate moments until he pulls away.  “We’ll get him back.” Vex watches his hands move but snorts, eyes furious. “Course we will. But we…he’s right. We need them.” Percy hums in agreement, offering her a hand and pulling herself up.  “Can we leave the dragon-man?” There’s not a sign he knows for dragon born, so he settles for signing the word dragon and then the word idiot and she seems to get it as she bursts out laughing. “We can try our best.”

 

The gnome is only slightly less annoying than the Dragonborn, but at least he doesn’t watch Percy the  _ entire time.   _ He likes the druid, though,  _ especially  _ when she follows them down the street, plops down in front of them as a dog, and offers to go on what is quite possibly a suicide mission.  She doesn’t even look at him like he’s some diseased  _ thing,  _ which is quite nice.  He covertly signs a “Suck it up she’s good” to a sulking Vex, wrapping an arm tightly around her waist so they both could have some much-needed support, and prays to whatever it is he prays to.

 

Keyleth does not stop talking the entire way back to the camp.  On one hand, it’s nice because he’s not expected to speak if she never pauses long enough to let someone get a word in but on the other hand he’s growing increasingly confused about what they’re even talking about.  Somehow, the conversation ends up on family and he wraps his fingers tightly around Vex’s, letting her lean subtly into his side and letting himself focus on the nails in his hand instead of thinking about his  _ own  _ family.  “What was your family like?” Vex translates for him, and the druid launches into a  _ very  _ long description of the dynamics of her ashari tribe and her mother who had gone missing and why she was out here in the first place.

 

The girls are...bonding? Which would be nice if it didn’t send a sharp pang of loss into his chest which was stupid because Vex and Vax were not going to leave him for someone they had just met...right?  Even if she could turn into cool animals and heal them and control fire and oh gods they were so going to leave him for someone they had just met he was so doomed. Trinket’s happy whine draws his attention and he wrapped both arms around the bear and buries his head in its neck, rubbing fingers through the rough fur all the while.

 

The dragon is back and if he has to try and hide his signing one more time, he’s going to shoot the sorcerer himself.  The docks are  _ disgusting,  _ full of the smells of rotting fish and meats and just general decay, but it’s fine because this is where Vax is and they need Vax back and then he’ll go, then he’ll be gone in the night before they even notice so they don’t have to do it themselves.  It’ll be easier on them, that way, he decides, keeping a foot or so behind the girls but ahead of the dragonborn, one hand resting carefully on Trinket’s flank.

 

He lets Vex go  as she sprints to her brother’s side and wraps him up in her arms and tries not to feel incredibly lonely.  Keyleth takes a step back and tucks herself against his side and he freezes, eyes wide. “They love you, you know.  Vex has been watching you the whole time. I’m not replacing you, Percival.” He haltingly moves to sign before realizing Vex was preoccupied and dropping his hands.  Tiberius seems to huff in annoyance and he has to bite down on a whine, letting the druid’s hand on his shoulder warm him and trying to block off the aching pains in his heart as he watches the rest of his family.

 

He gets hit in the fight and goes down to one knee hard, left wrist screaming in pain.  The  _ person creature thing  _ is sneering at all of them and he’s not going to be fast enough to beat it and he knows it and then Vex is moving, shoving him  behind her and shooting off another arrow with a shouted: “Come on, Percival, we need you shooting.” He forces himself to focus, to fire despite the agony in his arm.  To be useful, no matter what it cost.

 

They win.  Of course they do.  He tries not to watch every time Vex grins at Keyleth or every time Vex hugs Keyleth or every time the others watch him with distrust. He follows them, through the streets, broken wrist tucked close to his side and body shaking slightly but he’s fine.  There’s totally nothing wrong he’s definitely not about to start crying because they all almost died and now he’s so  _ impossibly  _ afraid that they’re not going to want him and he’s supposed to be better than this.  He knows it. He’ll be better than this and he’ll go. And they’ll be safe.

 

They buy half a dozen bottles of liquer and settle down on the floor in a room at the inn.  Vax curls up with his head in his sister’s lap and her petting his hair as they share a bottle. Grog takes three for himself, and the rest of them split the other two.  Percy doesn’t drink, just ghosts his lips over the rim and pretends to be doing it. Nobody seems to notice, once they’re all two drinks in. The room is full of chatter and suspicious glances keep being thrown his way at the lack of joining in but he sits there silently for long enough that they get the hint and leave him alone in his corner.

 

They break up to sleep.  The twins are already down so he slips to their side, silently working off Vex’s boots and Vax’s daggers, leaving two under the pillow and two more on the nightstand well within reach.  He pauses, fingers ghosting over their joined hands, before slinking back to his corner and sitting. He doesn’t plan to sleep, so he waits till the room is filled with soft breathing and snores before he makes his move.  He checks his guns, checks his bag, and leaves his coin purse by Vex’s head. And then he moves, glancing only once at Keyleth dosing near the twins and using only his not-aching left hand to fumble the door open and step out into the cold street.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't usually do cliffhangers, but I couldn't resist when I was looking at the comics and all and how close Vex and Keyleth managed to act in the span of like 2 and then I got to wondering "well, how would Very Insecure Percy feel about that" and then it just kept going. I'm also warning you now, Tibs is going to be a dick, for at least the next little while.


	5. The lost is found

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Percy runs. The twins follow and make it very clear that no matter who they happen to run into in the course of ending a curse/poisoning, they are family and that means something to them.

He walks as briskly as he can down towards the forest.  His bag is heavy against his shoulder and he’s shaking as he breaks into a run, sprinting towards the treeline.  His broken wrist throbs as he runs and he makes it for a few minutes before slowing down and leaning against a tree, shakily strapping the wrist.  His wrap is bad, he’s always been better at doing other people’s injuries than doing his own. 

 

Every inch of his body is  _ screaming  _ to return, to beg them to forgive him, to cling to Vex and let her tell him he’s safe and believe her but he can’t.  They have people now, better people. People who can talk and be happy and be  _ normal.   _ He pushes on, running nearly blind through the forest as he struggled to cut down the branches and keep himself moving over the rough terrain He was shivering from the cold, wind cutting into his bones.  He had  _ no  _ idea where he was but it didn’t matter because he was getting away.  

 

This had been a  _ terrible  _ decision.  He was so stupid they were going to hate him forever now what if they tried to follow him and got hurt it would be  _ his fault his fault his fault.   _ He bit his lip, curling up against the base of a tree and wrapping his blanket around himself.  He had to be right. They’d be safer without his issues and the constant threat of people coming for him  if they found out he was alive. They didn’t deserve to die. He couldn’t watch them die, too. He wouldn’t.

 

Vex woke up and did her customary glance around the room.  The goliath was sprawled on the floor with a gnome on his chest, the dragonborn was napping on the other bed, and Keyleth was curled up on the floor by their side.  And Percy was….Percy was...her eyes glanced in the corner, at the shadows, and there was...nothing. “Percy?” She calls, pulling herself up and freezing when she sees the bag of gold on the nightstand, tugging it open to see a note nestled in among the gold. 

 

Vax was awake at her first call, his eyes wide and concerned when he saw the terror and horror on her face.  “Percy left.” That was all it took for Vax to be fully awake, flying to his feet and grabbing the daggers she  _ knew  _ he hadn’t left there last night which means Percy had put it there because even Vex never kept his daggers that close to him when she undressed him for bed when he was particularly out of it.  Percy slept with a gun under his pillow and a second by his hand and he  _ got it  _ in a way no one Vax had ever met did.  

 

“What do you mean he left?”  Vex shoves a note in his hand and he forces down the slight hangover to read it.   _ “I’m sorry for being a burden.  I am glad that you have better people now, and I don’t want to make you do this yourself so I am doing it for you.  I hope I see you again someday.”  _ Vax curses furiously, finishing shoving his daggers onto his belt and moving on to lacing up his boots.  “We’re going to go find him, right?” Vax’s eyes are wide. “I...what did we do?” His voice was laced with fear and Vex grabbed his wrist, forcing him to turn to face her.

 

“I don’t...I don’t think it was us.  I’m sure we didn’t help it yesterday but  _ someone  _ made him feel this worthless.  And when we find out who, we’ll end them.  But till then...all we can do is remind him that no matter who we meet and who might help save you,  _ he’s  _ our family now.  These are just...random people we met yesterday.” Keyleth is sitting up now, having clearly been woken by the loud conversation behind her as her eyes flicker between the half-elves.  “Um...did I hear you right? Is Percy missing?” 

 

Keyleth’s dog form caught the scent instantly and she bolted towards the forest.  They sprinted after her, several times having to call the girl-dog back to them because they couldn’t keep up as she darted over logs or under tree trunks.  The twins were quiet, neither wanting to talk about how they’d managed to fuck this up so badly that their friend was now lost and alone in the wild. “This is our fault.”  Vax grunts, and Vex doesn’t think she can truly disagree anymore. “It’s not all our fault.” Vax odds softly. “But...we screwed this up yesterday pretty royally and that’s on us.”  Vex slips her hand around his and clings to it, resting her head on his shoulder for a moment before they break back into a run after the large dog who has stopped and is watching them.  

 

They were  _ pretty sure  _ they’d be much faster in a forest than Percy was.  Vex still held the opinion that their friend was  _ not  _ made for the outdoors; even when she was there he was forever tripping over logs or falling into swamps or being chased by wild animals.  The problem was that he was alone and that was stupidly dangerous in a forest like this and so they were running as fast as they could. They spent most of the day running; they were better in the forest, but Percy was clearly desperate judging by the damage to the foliage and he’d had the head start.  The sun falls and Vex drops back to wrap her arm around Vax’s waist as Keyleth, in human form, trots along behind them. “Im sorry.” The girl blurts out, and Vex turns to eye her in confusion.

 

“For...what?”  Keyleth shrugs, eyes wide with concern.  “I, if I hadn’t come and tried to help.” She explains, one hand flexing nervously.  “He thought…you all wouldn’t want him because you had us and that’s my fault and I’m sorry. She babbles nervously, clinging to her staff.  Vex shrugs, shifting to rebalance her bow, as Vax spoke up. “It’s not...your fault. I don’t want to get too far into his shit, but he’s got some...issues with not feeling useful enough and with thinking people won’t want him it’s nothing you did.”  He says quietly, one hand running over his daggers as the group fell back into silence.

 

He was  _ so tired.   _ It was absolutely freezing out and Percy was so tired he could barely stay upright.  He stumbled forward, moaning softly as he almost tripped over yet another log. He couldn’t even seem to get away from them properly.   _ Maybe there’s a reason  _ some traitorous part of his brain mutters, but he forces it down because he’s fine, he doesn’t need them and they  _ certainly  _ don’t need him.  He just wants to turn and run back to them and let them tell him they want him but he’s certain they’d be lying.  They don’t need him, that much is clear. He  _ refuses  _ to let them get hurt because he was selfish.  He would hurt, now, forever. So they wouldn’t.

 

It’s nearly pitch black by the time Vex freezes and taps her ear to show that she can hear him.  Even their half-elven eyes are struggling to see but Vax moves with a silence that only he can possess, slipping forward until he can see the pale moonlight reflecting off of Percy’s hair.  The human is shaking desperately, clearly barely upright, and even as Vax watches he slumps a little. Vax launches forward, grabbing Percy’s hands so he can’t get shot and pulling the human in tightly.  Percy gave a terrified noise and Vax murmured gently, one hand running over the back of his neck and the other gripping him close. “It’s ok, Percival, it’s just us, we’ve got you, you’re safe.” 

 

By the time the others reach them Percy has broken, sobbing nearly frantically into Vax’s shoulder.  He wraps himself tighter around the human, both kneeling on the cold ground now. Vex slips around to the other side and does the same and they tuck Percy between them.  Percy is shivering from some combination of fear and exhaustion and so they go all the way to sit, leaning against his sides. Vex stands and moves to go help Keyleth with a fire, and Percy curls up closer to Vax, who tugs him into his lap.  “Easy, we’ve got you.” Vax assures him gently. “We’ll talk in the morning, ok? Sleep, Percy. We’ve got you.” Percy nestles his head into Vax’s chest with a soft hum, left hand clumsily gripping Vax’s own. 

 

By the time Vex returns to his side, Percy is asleep.  She doesn’t really know what to say as she wraps her own hand over their clamped ones.  “I thought I lost you yesterday.” Vax turns to look at her, something like understanding in his eyes.  “Cmon, stubby. I’m never leaving you, not if I can do anything about it.” Vex nods, resting her head against the tree behind them for a moment.  “Yesterday I thought I lost you and today I thought I lost him and I am really done with feeling as though I am going to lose someone.” Vax hums in agreement, putting his free hand over hers and leaned his forehead to hers as they watched the fire that Keyleth had managed to get going.  “I know. But we’re all here and we’re not dead.” 

 

Keyleth watches them, quietly, from her side of the fire.  The pile doesn’t look very comfortable; Percy is curled up in Vax’s lap with Vex sort of leaning against his back and wrapped around her brother’s side, but they look  _ far  _ happier than they had all day, or really since Vax had been stolen.  She’d never been good with people, she knew that, but even she could see how close they were.  Percy shifted ever so slightly, eyes locking on hers, and she gave her best, still very awkward, smile.  He slumped back down, curling his head under Vex’s chin, and Keyleth just sat against a tree and waited for the sun to come up.

 

The sun is up when he wakes.  The twins are still pressed to either side as if they’re afraid he’s going to vanish and Percy feels  _ incredibly  _ guilty when he realizes that’s his fault.  Keyleth is sitting maybe 10 feet away, next to a still-burning fire, and he realizes she must have been up all night to manage that.  As he shifts, Vax jerks to wakefulness at his side. “Morning.” Percy signs, suddenly incredibly nervous as he sits up and curls in on himself, pulling out his gun and beginning to work on cleaning it.  Vex settles down at the fire to make breakfast and Trinket is licking his face and it’s so familiar that Percy just starts to shake because he wasn’t supposed to have this ever again, and it was for  _ their  _ safety, but he didn’t want to lose this.  He was exhausted and terrified and he wanted his family but it didn’t matter because they weren’t going to want  _ him  _ and gods, that hurt so much more than it should.

 

He doesn’t even realize he’s crying until Vax is crouching in front of him and gently tugging his gun from his grip.  Percy whines, a sharp, keening noise, and pulls back, eyes wide. Vex moved to crouch next to her brother, one hand on his knee.  “Percival, darling, it’s alright, you’re safe. No one’s going to hurt you.” She soothes, completely confused on why in one moment Percy seemingly had almost turned back into the scared boy he had been in the cell when he’d been doing so much better with them.  “Percy, I need you to tell me what’s wrong, c’mon man.” Vax says, as gently as he can manage, but Percy still draws away. “I’m sorry” he sighs frantically. “I tried to go I didn’t want you to have to ask me to go I’m sorry I tried.” He winces in pain, dropping his hands back into his lap and ducking his head down as he forces himself not to just bolt because he knows full well he can’t outrun them.

 

“Darling.”  Vex breathes, sounding absolutely heartbroken and he flinches because that was  _ his fault.   _ “Darling, we  _ never  _ want you to leave.  I’m so sorry we didn’t make that clear.”  Percy blinks, something like confusion flickering over his face, and Vax moves forward to slowly rest his hand on top of Percy’s, and the human’s eyes flicker to his face.  “You’re family, Percy. Sure, it would be nice to have more friends around, but you’re  _ family.   _ We are  **never** going to want you to leave.”  there’s that dangerous level of conviction in Vax’s eyes that means he can’t be argued with and Percy doesn’t understand, can’t even begin to understand why they would want  _ him  _ over people who can do far more useful things, over people far more whole.  

 

It must show on his face because Vax dips his head forward and tucks it against Percy’s, pressing their foreheads together.  “You’re stuck with us for as long as you want, alright? No matter who we meet.” Percy’s shaking hands curls up into an incredulous copy of the word “Forever” and Vex nods, nudging her way in until she’s got her hand over his, too.  “Yes, darling. Forever.” 

 

Later, he’s curled up with his head on Vex’s lap and his feet on top of Vax, now-healed hand resting on his chest.  They’re not far from town, now, but they’d decided to spend another night out under the stars. Keyleth is leaning against a tree watching and Percy shifts, propping himself up off the twins to instinctively sign “thank you” before realizing what he’d done and flopping back with a sigh.  He almost misses it, is about to turn his head away, when she very quickly raises her hands in response and replies “You’re welcome.” 


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Percy bonds with Keyleth while the twins have some words with Tiberius.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I don't quite understand how I keep writing these so fast, but here we are! I think I might do a bit of a time skip to the start of the stream but I'm not entirely sure yet. It's also important to note that here in my headcanon, Keyleth is autistic (if you hadn't noticed that yet, here you go)

They return to the others when morning comes.  Percy stands just behind Vax, one hand resting against his gun, as they walk through the town in the direction of the inn.  He knows they’re all fully expecting for the others to have left, and he almost hopes they have. He wonders if that makes him awful as he slips into the inn behind Vax, raising an eyebrow in surprise when his eyes land on a dragonborn and a goliath at the nearby table.  The gnome is perched on a nearby chair seemingly eating breakfast as the group of tired, bedraggled looking half-elves-and-a-human. “Hey there!” Scanlan calls, beckoning them over to the table which does have a few open chairs. Percy settles down between Vex and Keyleth, while Vax flops down on Vex’s other side.  

 

They quickly order breakfast, which turns out to be not-awful meats and potatoes.  There’s quiet chatter over the table, but he can see the dragonborn, who is apparently named Tiberius, watching him intently.  The gnome glances over a few times as Percy sits silently, but he thankfully spends most of his time singing absurd songs at the top of his lungs.  Keyleth looks nearly as uncomfortable as Percy feels, which is...nice? Maybe? Vax is devouring the meat and potatoes with his sister, eyes bright as he chats with the goliath.  

 

It’s...nice, sort of, but it’s also suffocatingly crowded and Percy doesn’t want to interrupt Vex or Vax’s conversation to ask them to say something for him and so he just wraps his hands together and rests them on the table.  Keyleth glances over; she’s spent the last 20 minutes shifting in her seat, one hand subtly tapping against her knee, and her eyes settle on his hands. She gives a tilt of her head and he sighs, pulling his hands up to sign “This is uncomfortable.”  She gives a quick jerk of her head and a “yes. It’s...crowded” in response and Percy grins in agreement. “Dragon-idiot is watching me” he responds, and Keyleth blinks before bursting out laughing, one hand flapping lazily at her side as she grins.

 

Her laughter draws the other’s attention and Vex grins, elbowing him in the side with a smile as she rests her head on his shoulder.  “I’m glad to see you bonding, darling.” He dips his head slightly, wrapping a hand around hers for a moment. Tiberius is grumbling on the far side of the table and he tilts his head, letting his fairly good hearing pick up on the “why are they traveling with someone who is so clearly an incompetent member of society.”  Percy flushes, curling back into Vex’s side and clinging tighter for a moment as Vax launched himself over the table, in one smooth moment pulling the dragonborn up to stand face-to-face with him. “You listen to me. If anyone can’t be a member of  _ society,  _ it’s you.  You do not talk about my brother like that.”  Vex is already moving to tug Vax back, snarling something in his ear, as Tiberius roughly shakes Vax off.

 

“In Draconia, he would not even be permitted to leave his home and you want to what, bring him along to fight monsters with us?  He’d be useless.” Percy curls back into himself and Keyleth glances over, eyes wide with worry. “Cmon, let’s get out of here.” he gives a tiny shake of his head, one hand clinging to his gun as Vax shook his sister off and glared furiously at Tiberius.  “He’s far more use than you’ll ever be! You’re the least inconspicuous person I’ve ever met, how can you hide from anything?” Percy can’t help but agree with that, but his agreement doesn’t help the shakiness in his hands because he doesn’t want to be here and watch Vax fight for him because what if Vax gets hurt it’ll be  _ entirely  _ his fault.

 

Keyleth looks terrified, and that’s what draws his attention away from the shout match across the table.  The redhead is twitching, and she’s as close as she can be to his side without actually touching him. She’s not even looking, so his attempts to sign to ask her if she wants to leave don’t work and so he just moves.  He reaches out, one hand wrapping firmly around her wrist as he pulled her up. Vex glanced over, understanding in her eyes as she nods towards the door and Percy moves, tugging both himself and Keyleth out onto the street.  

 

He doesn’t know what to do.  Even  _ before,  _ when he could hold his head high and speak and be a proper noble’s son, he had never been especially adept at understanding people.  He spent most of his time in the library or in his little workshop creating, not interacting with anyone but the tutors his father would send for him or his siblings.   Keyleth slumps down against the wall, making a sharp keening noise in the back of her throat and burying her head in her knees, one hand fiercely smacking against her knees as she rocks.  Percy thinks back desperately, he  _ knows  _ he has some vague idea of what to do but it, like  _ many  _ of his other memories of his family, is clouded and murky.  He drops to his knees next to Keyleth, ignoring the people walking down the street who were staring at them.  Keyleth was shaking slightly, eyes wide as she panted softly, and Percy just  _ didn’t know what to do.   _ He barely knew Keyleth and though he had decided that she was nice, he didn’t want to do something that would make her not like him.

 

He’d never had to worry about people before, in his lab or the library or the corners of the castle where he would go to read so that he could have peace and quiet without his father finding him to complain about the amount of time he spent on his own learning or inventing.  He’d never even really had  _ friends,  _ since it wouldn’t do for a nobleman’s child to go play with the children in the village.  When he and the twins had begun to grow as close as siblings it had very much been  _ their  _ doing, so now he just knelt next to Keyleth and silently begged  _ someone  _ to come help because he had  **no idea** what he was doing.

 

In the end, Keyleth helped herself, launching herself forward to wrap her hands around his, eyes desperate.  Percy slowly reached out, wrapping his own arms around her and tugging her into his arms, holding her tightly the way he’d seen Vex and Vax do before when one of them was having a panic attack.  He didn’t think this was quite the same issue, but it seemed close, and Keyleth went limp in his tight grip. He didn’t loosen it until Keyleth gave a hard double tap to his forearm, so he let her go.  She blinked at him for a moment, eyes hazy with exhaustion before she coaxed her hands up into the air and signed a shaky “Thank you. I’m sorry.” Percy gave a sharp hum, responding in kind “You didn’t do anything.  Not your fault. Are you ok?” Keyleth gives a slight nod leaning her head against his shoulder as he loops an arm back over it and they rest for a moment in the shade of the inn, pretending they can’t vaguely hear the shouts through the wall next to them.  

 

Later, Keyleth drags him down towards the forest where they had left Trinket the day before.  He goes willingly, once he pokes his head into the inn to make sure Vex and Vax didn’t think they’d been kidnapped, glad to get out of the suffocating atmosphere of the town.  Trinket is  _ delighted  _ to see him; he’s the bear’s third favorite person, after the twins.  Keyleth, who Percy has noticed still isn’t talking, not that he has any room to comment on people’s ability to talk, flops down in the long grass with her head resting against the bear’s hip.  Percy settles down against Trinket’s side and scratches his ears for a few moments, before pulling out his gun and beginning to work on it. He greatly enjoyed the silence, working carefully to fully clean his guns and get a little work done on a few other things he had been carrying around to work on. 

 

Keyleth was laying on her back in a flowery section of the field, head tilted back, eyes closed as she relaxed.  Percy nudged the bear in the side and Trinket grunted, standing and trotting over before lowering his head and licking her face a few times.  Keyleth burst out laughing, hands flapping for a moment as she sat up and ran them over the bear’s ears. “There’s a good boy.” she murmured, voice soft and tired but there.  “Who’s a good bear?” Percy grins, finishing packing up his toolkit and tucking it away in his pouch and confirming that his guns are safely in their holsters before he stands and offers Keyleth a hand.  She glances at him, tilting her head. “Ready to go back?” He dips his head and she grins happily, taking his hand. “Are we friends? I don’t, I’ve never really had friends so I’m not sure if that’s what this is but I think I would like to be your friend.”  She babbles and Percy taps a finger to his lips before signing “I would. Like that.” 

 

By the time they make it back to town, Percy has realized that Keyleth is someone he could really get along with.  She’s got bright eyes and with her habit of rambling on to herself, he isn’t really expected to insert his own comments even though as soon as he moves to do so she’ll stop talking and let him.  She’s also even more proficient in sign language than Vex, and far better than Vax, which was nice. She managed to show him the signs for a few of the races that he didn’t know, which at least meant he could use the proper sign for dragonborn.  He was personally still planning to use dragon-idiot for Tiberius, but it was nice to  _ know  _ the correct option.  

 

Vex and Vax are waiting for them.  Percy still can’t shake that fear in the base of his chest that they’re going to choose the others over him, but he thinks it a little less as he and Keyleth reach the inn.  The sun is starting to go down as he tucks himself between the twins, resting his head on Vex’s shoulder in exhaustion. She chuckled, running a hand over his shoulder. “Cmon, let’s get some sleep.  We have to figure out what we’re doing in the morning.” Percy nods in agreement, raising his hands to sign good night to Keyleth and slipping up the stairs to their room.

 

“We should stay with them.”  Percy signs, and Vex raises her eyebrows at him in surprise.  “Are you sure, darling? We won’t be upset if you want to keep going with just us.”  He hesitates because that’s safer. He knows what that looks like, he knows how to sleep in a pile with them and trinket and how to hunt and forage with Vex or pickpocket with Vax.  He knows what he’s doing with them but he thinks about the fight the day before. He thinks about Keyleth’s fingers on his wrist and Trinket’s fur and how he thinks he could feel safe with her, too.  He thinks they’d all be a little safer, not being on their own, and so he nods. “Together.” Vax nods, sprawling over his lap and grinning up at him. “Like I said, Perce. You’re our brother, forever.”  Percy hums, curling up between the twins to take advantage of the comfortable bed and get some sleep. 


	7. Before

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Moments of bonding. And dickhead parents. Also a dragon. But mostly bonding

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is going to be the last chapter before we reach where the stream starts, which I am very excited about! I'm not totally happy with this one but I needed to just get it Out here so I hope you all enjoy it.

They meet Pike on a desperate hunt for Grog, who had gone missing.  Percy is the first to spot the brown-haired gnome moving through the forest and he gives a hard tug to draw Keyleth’s eyes to it.  Vax and Vex have a not-very-sneaky argument about whether they should sneak up or not, but Tiberius and Scanlan just run forward without any warning to speak to the gnome.  “My name is Tiberius Stormwind, and I’m from Draconia I am glad to meet you.” “Hi! I’m Scanlan!” Keyleth and Percy exchange a glance between darting after them. One of Percy’s guns is in his hands and Keyleth’s fingers are glowing with energy, but they quickly lower their weapons as they see the gnome seems friendly.  

 

“Hi, I’m Keyleth.  It’s really nice to meet you I’ve never met a gnome who isn’t Scanlan and the others always say he’s a bit weird for a gnome anyway.  This is Percival...Perce, what’s your full name again?” Percy gave her a look, sighing as he tucks his gun back into its holster and starts to briskly finger-spell his entire name.  Thankfully, before he’s hit Klossowski, Vax and Vex have stopped arguing and are standing behind him and Keyleth. “It’s Percival Fredrickstein von Musel Klossowski de Rolo the Third.”  Vax calls. “I’m Vax, this is Vex. We...we’re looking for a goliath named Grog.” The gnome gave a kind, tired smile, her eyes much nicer than most people Percy saw, as she finally spoke.  “My name is Pike Trickfoot. I’m looking for Grog, too.”

 

He can see the fear Vex and Vax are barely hiding as they approach their father’s home.  Vax has a dagger in each hand and he’s shaking slightly to the point that Percy elbows his way in front of the half-elf, shoving him back into grog.  Keyleth curls a hand around Percy’s elbow and holds on firmly as Scanlan moves to knock on the door. “You don’t have to come.” Percy signs sharply to Vex, who gives a shake of her head.  “I have to he’s my father.” Keyleth blinks, shifting her head. “That’s not a reason. He hurt you guys; you don’t have to go and interact with him again Scanlan and I can do it. Percy and Scanlan and I can.  Grog, why don’t you and Tiberius and Pike and the Twins go down to the inn?” Scanlan pauses, hand hovering above the door, but he nods and grins easily. “This is  _ me  _ we’re talking about about.”  Pike and Vex and Grog quickly steer a protesting Vax and Tiberius down the street away from the door and Percy can  _ see  _ the relief in their eyes.  “You can translate?” He asks Keyleth, and she puts on what is clearly a very forced smile as she nods.  “Yeah, course I can.” 

 

He’s shivering as they reach the inn they’re staying at, and Keyleth firmly grabs his hands.  “Perce, are you ok? You know he’s wrong, right? There’s nothing wrong with you or with me we’re fine.”  She babbles, wrapping her arms tightly around him and letting his head droop onto her shoulder. “The twins were right, he’s a dick.”  She grumbles, giving Percy a moment to collect himself before they turn back to the inn. Scanlan is watching them intently, eyes more understanding than Percy had expected, as he gives his trademark grin.  “We should prank them so hard!” Keyleth gives a happy flap of agreement, holding the door of the inn open and ushering them indoors. 

 

They’re split up.  The trap sends him with Vex, Keyleth, Grog and Tiberius, and he is  _ not  _ ok with this because Vax has a tendency to almost die when they leave him alone and they really would prefer him alive thank you.  Vex fidgets with her bow and glares daggers at all of them, to the point that Percy shifts to standing near Keyleth and Grog instead. By the time they slay the aboleth on the island they had fallen to, Vex is half dead from blood loss and clearly needs to sleep before they go any further.  Percy is nursing a bruised collarbone, and Keyleth was limping badly on what Percy hoped was a sprained and not fractured ankle. Grog was bloody but still seemed to be ok, and Tiberius had been too far away to be involved,  _ of course,  _ so he was fine.  Percy exchanges a look with Keyleth and she nods, moving slowly to Vex’s side.  “We need to rest we’re all really hurt and if we keep going we might have to fight something else and then what if we die I would really rather not have us die yknow?  Death is bad.” 

 

They meet back up in a graveyard.  Percy’s body  _ aches,  _ and he’s more upset than he’s going to tell them because Vex has been snapping at him for hours and he really just wants to tell her that he’s scared for Vax, too, but he doesn’t think she’s really going to appreciate him saying that so he lets Keyleth grip his hand and watches their reunion.  Vax is bloodied and shaky but he looks up as they approach him and Vex, and gives his best smile. “ ‘s ok, guys. I’m ok.” He reaches out a hand for Percy and Percy freezes, eyes flickering to Vex before he steps forward and buries his head in Vax’s shoulder. Vax shoots a worried look at Vex, who is still clinging to his side, before wrapping an arm carefully around Percy and reaching out for the others as he lets his family take a moment to feel whole again.  

 

Vex spots the woman storming away from the gates and pulls all of their attention to her.  “She looks...powerful. We should talk to her maybe, see what she has to say.” Pike nods in agreement from Grog’s shoulder.  “She could know people who know The King maybe she even knows what’s going on with him.” Vex runs to catch up to the woman, Trinket lumbering after her.  Vax shouts after her with a grin on his face, “Hey, maybe don’t bring the bear to meet someone!” Vex gives him the finger and the rest of the team burst out laughing, Grog reaching down to give one large-handed high-five to Vax as they follow Vex at a slower pace.  Percy ducks around to stand nearer to Vax and Keyleth and about as far away from Tiberius as it was possible to be. 

 

By the time they get to the women, Vex is  _ definitely  _ flirting.  Percy and Vax exchange a look of amusement as Tiberius rather forcibly inserts himself into the conversation. The woman was pretty, with braided golden hair down her back and deep blue robes that fairly prominently marked her as some kind of magic user.  “Oh, hello there family.” Vex smiles, turning to glance back at them. “This is...you said it’s Allura?” The woman dips her head. There was a hardness in her eyes, and a  _ lot  _ of worry, but he could see a shred of something kind underneath.  “Yes. My name is Allura Vysoren. And you all are?” They go around in a half-circle of names and Percy tugs twice on Vax’s wrist, so he nods.  “I’m Vax’ildan, and this is Percival Fredrickstein Von Musel Klossowski De Rolo the Third.” Percy raises a hand in greeting, silently praying that she didn’t question it.  To his relief, the woman just offered a hand to shake which he took gratefully and smiled. “Pleasure to meet you, Mister De Rolo, Vax’ildan. Your sister was telling me that you were...concerned about some recent events?

 

He’s  _ so tired.   _ The dragon lay dead on the ground and Percy was fairly sure that if it wasn’t for Keyleth and Scanlan’s healing, he would’ve joined the creature.  “So tired.” He signs, slumping back until he’s laying on the rock. The world sits still for a blessed moment and then there’s strong hands on his shoulder and they’re hauling him up against Grog’s large body, his head on Grog’s legs.  The goliath pats him lightly on the head, and he gives a grateful hum. Grog’s sign language is  _ incredibly  _ spotty, he really doesn’t know any of it, but he’s never minded Percy’s inability to talk to him and he’s very warm and a pretty nice pillow.  Percy’s pretty sure that’s why Pike and Scanlan often perch on him. “Yah ok Perce?” Grog questions and he nods, groaning as he hauls himself further up to slump in Grog’s lap.  He gestures at all of them, then mimes killing, then points at the dragon. Grog huffs in agreement. “Killed ah dragon ‘oday.” Grog says in delight, carefully draping an arm over Percy’s shoulders.  “Sleep. Yah did good.”

 

“What do we do?”  Vax demands softly.  He doesn’t want to be in a  _ contract  _ with anyone, and certainly not a monster. Keyleth is pacing back and forth looking completely distressed, hands flying near her face.  Vex leans against the wall rewrapping a gash to her side. Percy is hunched near the wall, leaning against Trinket, just  _ thinking.   _ He wants this family, wants their help in the many  _ other  _ things he wants, needs, to do, but at the same time he can’t stop the surging terror that if this doesn’t get them all killed he somehow will.  “We can  _ not  _ work for him!”  Vex snarls and Percy moves, ignoring the ache in his bones as he hauls himself up and glances around.  “Then we don’t. We have a wish. Let’s use it.” Vex translates, since Keyleth is a little preoccupied.  He signs it again, eyes firm. “Use it.” 

 

Grog hasn’t put Pike down since she was revived.  It’s been a few hours since the souls of the royal family had been restored and Vox Machina was drinking in a pub somewhere.  Grog and Pike were both  _ very  _ drunk, and most of the others were on their way there. Percy had somehow been assigned the job of keeping them all alive, so he had only had two drinks before he switched to some kind of sweet tea that the bar made.  He left Grog and Pike to sleep at the bar and wrestled the twins and Scanlan up the stairs, grateful for how small the gnome was since even he could carry him. Vex and Vax were  _ not  _ strangers to being drunk, so once he nudged them into the first of the rooms they had rented, they’d be fine.  He sets Scanlan down on one of the beds, glancing over at the bundle of blankets on the other bed that he assumed was Keyleth.  He’d meant to only pause here, before moving on to make sure the twins really  _ were  _ ok and to quiet the voice of anxiety in the back of his head insisting that somehow him leaving them alone would get them killed.  But as he shifted towards the door, the bundle of blankets made a noise very similar to a yelp and scrambled free, showing Keyleth’s favorite dog form, a big bloodhound-type creature with long legs and bright green eyes.

 

“Keyleth?”  His hands question gently.  Her sign name is one of his favorites, the word for animal combined with the letter K.  The large dog in front of him whines and he can see the slight tremors running through her and he curses in his head because yeah, he  _ probably  _ knew her well enough that he should’ve seen this coming.  The last few days had been the most stressful in most of their lives, though not his.  He didn’t think anything could compare to those awful  _ days weeks months he wasn’t sure  _ in  _ her  _ dungeon being tortured but he knew for most, this was as bad as it got.  He moved slowly back towards the bed, slumping down onto it and tugging off his boots as he realized just how exhausted he was.  Keyleth scrambled up next to him, curling up nearly on top of him so she could press as much of her fur-coated form to him as she could.  

  
Percy gave a soft hum, knowing better than to actually really touch his friend/the dog.  When Keyleth got overloaded, which was in Percy’s opinion _clearly_ what was happening here, she tended to want to be as close as possible to them without actually having them touch her.  It had taken Percy a few times fucking it up and feeling like the _worst person ever_ for him to get that, but in the end he’d slowly figured it out.  Now, he lay sprawled on the bed, finally letting himself give in to the exhaustion that had been plaguing him for _days_ at this point.  “Night, Keyleth.”  He signs with a smile that he’s pretty sure she’s not looking at.  He does it anyway. “Sleep well.” 


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We reach Kraghammer and things begin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, so sorry that this took so long! Next chapter will (Hopefully) be much sooner now that I am graduated from HS and am not constantly working on a Creative Writing piece that I left till last minute and had to rush to write! I hope you guys enjoy this chapter, I'm very happy to finally be at where the stream starts! As a note, in my head Percy has a bit of a lower charisma score, not because he isn't as well spoken but because the shopkeeps and such tend to ignore or not think well of what Vex translates him saying as. I do have his wisdom, mainly perception, higher in my head because I imagine that if you were constantly being ignored like he was before VM and even to a lesser extent now, you'd learn to watch and listen and feel things because you had to in order to be safe.

The gates of Kraghammer loom over them.  “This place is awesome” Keyleth breathes, and Percy gives a jerky nod of agreement.  Walking slowly down the street the city stretches out before him, and it’s like nothing he’s ever seen.  “The architecture is amazing” he agrees, fingers moving briskly through the chill air. “I think the twins and grog are going to go drink their faces off.”  He groans dramatically as he laces his fingers with hers and rests his head on her shoulder. 

 

He’s long since learned that it’s best if he stands in the back near Keyleth in social conversations, one hand clinging to her wrist or her fingers wrapped around his hand so she can run her fingers over his scars.  Apparently, it was nice to stim with, and he didn’t have it in him to protest. He listens intently as Vex and Vax explain their business down here while simultaneously keeping an eye on Grog, who is drinking at a nearby table, and Scanlan and Tiberius, who are whispering in a way that makes him  very concerned. Tiberius had never quite bonded with him; the dragonborn had at least stopped making comments but it was clear that he still was not terribly fond of Percy and Percy would say that it was a mutual level of distrust. 

 

He’s got a book of parchment balanced on one hand and he scratches down notes about what the woman has said about Kima, occasionally signing a question to Vex who would call it out.  Vax had always been a smooth talker when he wanted to be, falling in next to his sister with a practiced smile and a tilt of his head that Percy had seen earn information from  _ many  _ people of every gender.  The city is like nothing he’s ever seen, and as the cute young dwarf boy is showing them around he sticks near the back having a silent conversation with Keyleth.  

 

Curling up at the bar to write comment cards with Keyleth is better than he had expected. He’s been teaching her calligraphy, but she’s still too prone to going off on a tangent to be nearly as good at it as he was so he handles the writing and she helps think of the messages.  “He was very helpful,” she points out, and Percy dips his head in agreement, dragging the pen carefully down to make another letter. They’re working for almost an hour before the other return and by the time they do, Keyleth’s nervous energy has quieted and Percy’s hands are calmer.  

 

It gets frustrating, sometimes, when the others talk over him.  Vex and Keyleth are forever telling him to yank on one of them if he needs something translated, but he can’t stop the sharp pang in his chest that says that he’ll annoy them too much and so he usually doesn’t. Tiberius and Grog don’t speak a lick of sign language, although for two very different reasons, but everyone else could do at least a small amount.  Vax was constantly trying to learn but it had been  _ years  _ at this point and he still could barely manage a sentence or two, so Percy stuck with Vex or Keyleth most days.  

 

Vex was an incredibly barterer.  She knew how to tilt her head right and how to read the eyes of the people selling whatever it was they wanted, and that came in incredibly handy sometimes when they were tired and hungry and broke on the road.  But besides that, Percy was vaguely sure that vex might be one of the smartest people he’d ever met. She knew how to read people like a book, which had  _ terrified  _ him when they had first met but now was far more useful because she could take one look back at him and Keyleth and  _ get it  _ when one of them wasn’t alright.  She was forever flopping over Percy’s legs and leaning onto Keyleth’s back or rustling Scanlan’s hair and tossing him onto Grog’s shoulders.

 

Scanlan goes invisible to get inside a dwarf’s house, and Keyleth spends the entire time he is gone pacing and flapping nervously.  Percy keeps one hand on her shoulder and one hand on Grog’s arm and tries to keep himself calm. Grog seems to understand, draping a large arm over Percy’s shoulder as they quietly wait for Scanlan to get back.  Vex delivers a scathing speech on “needlessly risking your own life and all of our safety just to have fun sneaking in” that he signed to her, so he fell back in step with Vax and leaned against him as best he could.  

 

Kraghammer was  _ incredible.   _ The mines were huge, bigger than anything Percy had ever seen.  He listens to Grog and Pike laugh with each other as they walk, as he and Keyleth have a silent debate on whether it’s better to grow vines on ale or leave it be.  He literally has to spell out “ostentatious” and by the end of  _ that,  _ he’s very willing to give up on the argument and lets her grow a bunch of flowers and add a bow on top.  The flowers are lovely, though he still finds them unnecessary, but Keyleth seems happy as they walk side by side with Scanlan perched on Percy’s back whispering in his ear about how cool this place was and  _ “also if we see any goblins we can kill them right?”   _ there was a tremor in his voice that surprised Percy, since Scanlan was usually very calm and confident, so he just nodded and decided that they’d cross that bridge if they ever got to it.  

 

The smell of the mines reminds him of the smell of his workshop or of his guns on the days when he fires them over and over, until their sound is all he can hear and the soot and  _ pain  _ is all he can smell.  He shakes his head a few times, resting his elbow in Keyleth’s.  They move quietly, both scanning the space with careful eyes as Keyleth gives a sharp double tug on his wrist, drawing his attention to the way a few of the guards are glancing around nervously.  He dips his head in a slight movement of agreement and they pick up the pace, ducking behind Vex and Vax. Vex is chatting animatedly with one of the guards as Vax fingers a dagger in a way that he’s  _ definitely  _ intending for the guards to see.

 

He darts his hands up to sign, Vex tilting her face so she can see his fingers moving, and he can  _ see  _ the scowl forming already on the face of Nostoc.  He tries not to let it stop him, fingers only faltering for a moment before he keeps going.  “We’re here to mend any broken bridges.” he gives a halting laugh when Keyleth adds a soft comment about broken toes, leaning gratefully into her side as Vex pulled off her best impression of someone who was honest and kind.  “Kima was stupid” Keyleth signs, and Percy gives an aching nod. He doesn’t entirely love the idea of diving into the mines, but he knows they can’t go back empty-handed; he’d seen the panicked look on Allura’s face when she had all but begged them to take this quest so he pulls his hands up once again.  Nostoc’s eyes darken but he doesn’t say anything as Percy signs a brisk “We are happy to kill any issues we find within those mines as well.” 

 

“I’m sure you would disagree with unceremonious charity, to give it or receive it.”  He drops his hands and just  _ knows  _ he’s got it as Nostoc gives a sigh and dips his head under Vex’s words.  He’s almost proud as they walk out, and then the clanging of the bell sends Keyleth rearing back into his side.  He gives a tilt of his head to her and she tightens the grip for a moment, eyes wide with concern. “What, that, that sounds bad.”  he hums in agreement, sprinting along with the others as fast as he can down towards the goblins.

 

Afterward, once they leave Nostoc’s office with a deal ready and gold to be won, Keyleth finds him.  Percy is  _ exactly  _ where she expects him to be; curled up in the corner of his bed back at the inn, and it scares her a bit that she knows him that well.  “Hey, Perce.” She breathes, slipping in beside him and resting her head on top of his. Percy’s a fair bit bigger than she is but curled like this, he fits huddled into her chest.  His shirt has been tugged off and he’s been trying to shakily rub ointment into a deep bruise on his shoulder that she thinks is from the new gun. There’s a tremor in his hands that is only usually there after a fight where all he sees is  _ bad,  _ where it’s entirely pure carnage.  She’s surprised that this pushed him to that point, but she’s learned not to question it.  “Perce.” She repeats, waiting until his eyes sluggishly focused up at her. “Perce, can I heal you?”  He nods, slumping forward into her hands as she lets her healing magic roll over him, healing the worst of the bruises and the damage he had taken in the fight.  “Sorry.” He signs sluggishly, but she just hums and tugs him closer. “You’re fine, Perce. We’re  _ fiiiiine,  _ just gonna go off and fight some giant stitch monsters and evil dwarfs tomorrow!” He laughs, long and tired as he shifts to lay more comfortably as they both quickly fall asleep.

  
Vex’s haggling never ceases to amaze him.  The idea that someone can not only _have_ words that never falter, never fail, have words that are the exact opposite of what he has, is incredible.  Even in his dreams now, Percy can never force words out of his lips and really, he thinks he’s long since given up trying or even really dreaming.  He’s happy how he is, _well no that’s a lie but if he says it enough times maybe he will believe it maybe maybe maybe._ The way Vex can tilt her head and raise her eyebrow and save them _so much money_ will never cease to be incredible to the young man, as he watches from the back corner of the shop as she purchases them potions.  “The mines tomorrow.” Keyleth nods, eyes concerned. “Do you think we’ll be ok?” She asks softly aloud and Percy considers for a moment before he nods and his hands start subtly moving again.  He’s doing is best to keep them out of the line of sight of the shopkeep as he responds, “I think so. As long as tibs doesn’t burn any more dwarves and we make sure Grog doesn’t run off.” Keyleth hums in agreement, hand snaking around his side and he doesn’t flinch away.  “We’ve got this.” She mutters with as must conviction as she can muster, which isn’t much but he still nods. “Together?” It’s a question how he asks it, a subtle tilt to the fingers that causes his hands to shake harder as she grins and nods, her own signed response far less nervous.  “Together.” 


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the tunnels, Percy stews, and Grog is injured

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry this took so long I hope you all are still reading. I had top surgery last week (It went well) and I've been stuck on this for a while, but I'm finally satisfied enough to put this up here so enjoy. The next chapter should be soon

He falls in next to Grog as they walk.  The goliath never seems to expect conversation, which is good because after about two years he could still only really recognize when Percy was saying hello or his name or help, and even that had taken the larger man a lot of effort.  When they had first met their little group, Grog had  _ terrified  _ Percy.  The man was huge, and could clearly rip him limb from limb before Percy even had a chance to pull his gun out.  But over the last few years they’d gotten closer; Percy appreciated someone who didn’t expect him to communicate and Grog seemed to enjoy the same.  It feels as though they are walking forever, no one speaking for fear of alerting something to their presence. As time passes and they get deeper and deeper underground, Percy can feel himself becoming more and more nervous.  His vision down hear is awful; he can really only see the space ahead of him by the light spell on Pike’s shield.  

 

Keyleth had a habit of telling terrible stories as they walked, and Percy had a habit of being the only person nice enough to listen, so after a while he fell in next to her.  Tiberius was walking a few feet ahead grumbling about spending four hours on foot in tunnels, while Scanlan was making very rude puns in the direction of Pike, who was now perched on Grog’s shoulder since she’d been struggling to keep up.  “I don’t like it down here,” Percy signs, and Keyleth makes a sharp noise of agreement at his side. “I can see and I still don’t like it.” She agrees softly, one hand tapping nervously into her thigh. “It’s too small and too enclosed, I can’t imagine how it is when you can’t even really see that sounds awful.”   
  


It’s not particularly helpful conversation, but it’s something, and it at least keeps Keyleth from telling stories about her family who Percy wasn’t even entirely sure she truly liked; some part of him was still  _ pretty sure  _ that at least half of that was a mask.  But they walked, and they walked, and they walked, until the tunnel swung open in front of them into a chamber of some sort, which was at least better than the narrow passages they had been traversing for some time now.  ‘Water!” Percy signs eagerly, and Keyleth nods, tilting her head in agreement. Vax and Vex vanish into the shadows and Percy grasps Keyleth’s hand, tucking himself into her side and focusing on the world in front of them as intently as he can.  

 

He’s gotten good at watching.  When one can’t directly communicate with the world, he’d found, they really needed to watch intently for the little things the world was saying back to them.  It was also an excellent distraction from the neverending desire for revenge, and the overwhelming barrage of memories of just pure  _ pain,  _ that pressed at the back of his mind, seeming to be in a sort of endless battle for getting to pick which side tortured him.  

 

The chattering noise pulls him back to Keyleth’s side and he scans the space with wide eyes.  The darkness is terrifying, and he clings as tight as he can to Keyleth as he stumbles back, squealing in terror as he hears the chattering that he suddenly recognizes, tightening his grip as the creatures launch at them.  He doesn’t actually remember most of the umber hulk fight, mostly due to a lot of blood loss and then what he is pretty sure had been a very bad panic attack from the creatures weird mind controlling things or...something like that.  

 

His gun is hot in his hands as he fires one shot, a second, a third, fires over and over into the bodies of the creatures keeping his eyes locked on the ground.  He hates this; depriving himself of another sense is enough to send him wild from frustration but when he hears Vax’s triumphant cry and the umber hulk striking the floor, the worst of the anger and fear fades away. He’s shaking slightly, leaning against the wall for a few moments of peace and rest before Vax gives a shout as Grog bolts off in the other direction and he’s moving again, long legs pounding against the cave floor as he chases after his friends.

 

It’s Keyleth’s shout that pulls him to Grog’s side.  Her hands are fluttering fearfully over the body of their friend and for a moment he’s seized with absolute terror, until he sees the slow rise and fall of the chest and some of the panic bleeds out of his muscles.  At the very least Grog is alive, but he’s not moving, not shouting, not ripping into things with his axe, which means  _ something  _ is very wrong.  Vex slaps him hard, and percy flinches from the sound before sliding down behind Grog with the goliath’s head in his lap, fingers coming through the filthy hair as he gave a low, nervous humming sound.  

 

He pokes at the body a bit, lifting up the bigger man’s eyelids and in his mouth and such, and can’t help but blink in confusion because there’s no bleeding, no  _ nothing  _ that would symbolize an injury which is good because they’ve delt with brain injuries before and those  _ suck  _ until they’re healed.  The fact that this didn’t seem to be that was a relief, but it meant that he was even more confused about what was the cause of the state of his friend.  He pulled himself up, not even bothering to sign to the twins as he stalks away from Grog, who is surrounded by their friends, and examines the creatures with quick, careful movements.

 

He turns, fingers flying as Vex begins to translate what he’s saying, but she barely has the words “Magical attack from” out before Tiberius is butting in, going on about magical attacks and brain-creatures, and Percy forces himself to bite down on the hot thread of anger for a moment because he knows that won’t do anything, Tiberius won’t even listen to the translation one of the others would give of him.  Vax had to pin the dragonborn to the wall before he would even make Percy an earing, calling it “Useless” on the human man, despite the fact that Percy could  _ hear  _ through it just fine.  

 

He’d say it’s late when Keyleth flops down at his side, but since it’s a cave he actually has absolutely no idea what time of day it is.  She groans, burying her head in his hip, since Grog’s head takes up his lap, and letting him run one hand carefully over her hair. She’s got a book open on her lap and a second in one hand and there’s such a frustrated look on her face that he  _ really  _ wishes he knew something about magic and could help.  He just sort of shifts, giving a low hum and resting his arm around her shoulder as he watches and she studies quietly under her breath.  “Good night, Percival.” he rubs a finger over her wrist in agreement, leaning back and closing his eyes in the darkness.

 

He wakes up to a leg covered in drool and Keyleth already awake at his side, fingers flying over her books again.  He gives a sharp scan of the room, eyes landing carefully on the rest of their party; Scanlan is asleep curled up next to Grog’s side a few feet away, Vex and Vax are flopped on Trinket, Tiberius is a few yards away against a column snoring loudly. Vex raises a hand in greeting, and Keyleth gives a low hum against his side which is the first thing that really draws his attention.  He doesn’t bother to sign; she’s not looking, and she has both hands in her bag and book anyway, just rests his head on her shoulder to look at the book that she’s got open before deciding he has no idea what she’s reading and leaning back to clean his guns.  

 

Grog jerks awake and out of his lap and Keyleth gives a few delighted flaps, though there’s still a tenseness to her face that hasn’t faded, so he falls into step next to her as they walk.  Vex and Vax are  _ living  _ for these tunnels; he can see the delight in their faces as they duck in and out of the shadows.  Grog walks with a gnome on each shoulder, talking “quietly” to them both, with the nearby Tiberius occasionally giving comments.  Percy and Keyleth walk a few feet behind them, signing silently between themselves and trying to play a rousing game of “who can spot the twins first?”

 

The tunnels felt  _ endless.   _ They walked, and walked, and walked, as his feet grew sore and his hands ached from the grip he was holding on his gun and the tremor in Keyleth’s hands never settled.  The brain-sucked creatures were...concerning, and his grip tightened on Keyleth’s as they walked. After what felt like hours but probably wasn’t, he felt a breeze past him as Vax dropped back to his shoulder and looped an arm around his waist with a hum.  “Hey there, Perce, Kiki. Enjoying the tunnels?” They both turn to send him an incredulous look and the  _ irritating  _ half-elf gives a snorting laugh and dives off back into the darkness, ignoring the middle finger that a laughing Percy had given him.

 

They finally reach  _ something.   _ The open space ahead feels as though it stretches on forever; he can’t even  _ see  _ the far side.  The duergar draw his attention to the small bridge and he sends a look to the others, elbowing Keyleth and scrambling forward to get a little closer to the group, since they’d been lagging behind. The party argues over  Percy never loved the carpet; he was firmly of the opinion that if he couldn’t go there on his own two legs, it was probably somewhere he was helpless and couldn’t save himself in a pinch, and that wasn’t great. He watches intently, never allowing his eyes to leave the twins and scanlan as they soar off towards the city.

 

Percy has known for a long time that Scanlan has absolutely no sense of self preservation, and hearing that the little  _ moron  _ had run off by himself into a city of evil shit only once again reinforced this opinion.  Sure, the gnome was invisible, but scanlan was just about the loudest person who Percy had met that wasn’t Grog, so he was wholeheartedly unconvinced that the invisibility would matter.  Percy isn’t paying a ton of attention, trying rather desperately to think of what these creatures were and of a  _ plan  _ that didn’t involve his entire family dying.  In the end, it’s  _ Grog  _ who thinks of the plan, which Percy can’t really complain about because he’s very fond of Grog and the bigger man looks incredibly proud.  He moves to the figure’s side, resting a hand against his knee and leaning into his side, and Grog grins down at him. “I made’a good plan!  Did ya see, Percy?” Percy gives an affirmative thumbs up at him before turning his attention back to the others, who were still bickering over the details of the plan.

 

They change plans so fast that Percy half expects them to enact halves of different plans, which would probably end terribly.  Vax is still fiercely arguing that he should be bait, while Percy’s hands are flying almost faster than Vex can keep up as he desperately tries to argue the other man down.  “No, it’s too dangerous, it’s a whole CITY Vax, we can’t save you if they catch you!” Vax leans forward, pressing his lips to Percy’s forehead before turning and walking back with his sister towards the carpet.  

 

Percy has always appreciated that Vex translates  for him even when she disagrees with what he’s saying.   Even now, as she helps her brother tie a flying carpet to his back and smacks him in the ribs when he makes a rude joke, she’d been willing to translate his desperate protests even as she endorsed the plan.  Percy finds a corner, props his gun up, rests himself on the ground to watch, and waits for hell to cross the bridge towards them.    

 

This is, as far as he knows, the most enemies he has ever seen at once, and the most he’d  _ ever  _ seen Vox Machina try and fight.  The waiting is the worst part, knowing that Vax was out there somewhere and he couldn’t do anything but sit and stare down the scope of his gun and wait.  In the painful quiet he can feel the doubt and fear creeping in and then.

 

And then his finger closes on the trigger and sparks strike his hands, burning his fingers before he can release as the gun jams and he howls aloud.  He’s so focused on the burning metal in his hands that he almost misses Vex’s cry for her brother, but as soon as he hears it he’s on his feet and heading in their direction.  He hands back a few steps as Vex holds her brother, and tries to ignore the anxiety burning under his skin before shooting another shot, watching the duergar retreating.  

 

The crevasse is so deep.  Keyleth reaches out, wrapping a hand around his and the cooling healing magic from her fingers soothes the aches he hadn’t even let himself notice in his hands as he slumped back against her with a tired “thank you” signed from newly-healed fingers.  She smiled, pressed a kiss to his head, and they watched the world above them disappear further and further above.  


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So, I'm *Very Sorry* but I ended up skipping the rest of the underdark arc. I couldn't get myself to write it well and I figured it was better to skip it than to spend months failing at writing one chapter. This starts basically at the end of that arc and I'm EXTREMELY excited to start to get towards the Whitestone arc.

Afterwards, Percy doesn’t remember much of the time down there.  He remembers the important things; the look on Kima’s face when they first found her, the beholder battle, shooting clarota through the head and just  _ roaring,  _ sound not words because his fingers were already moving and Vex was already shouting his words; “Some people have no sense of  _ fucking  _ honor!”  The swear was her own addition and he grinned, before going back to glaring at Tiberius, which was what he had spent most of the time down here since the beholder fight doing.  

 

The gatekeeper looks suspicious as his hands fly into words and Keyleth, propping herself up on his shoulder, translates quietly.  He squeezes her hand for a moment as he pauses, before diving back in. He’s always hated the fact that according to everyone he’s met not named Tiberius, he’s  _ good  _ at words, good at putting them into orders that make people believe them, good at getting them out of problematic situations.  Good at making words for other people; they’re not his words, he does’t think, they’ve never felt like his.  

 

Keyleth is shivering at his shoulder when they reach the beach to teleport, and by the time they teleport into Emon and make it outside the building, she curls up nearly in his lap and buries her head in his shoulder and cries.  He gets it; he did better, down there, than she did, or at least he hid it better, so he loops an arm over her back and lets her hurt and sends glares at Tiberius and hoping they could get Kima out of being stone soon. 

 

The stars are beautiful.  He links an arm with her, leans his head on her shoulder and hums in delight at the most interesting stars.  They walk slowly, trailing at the back of the group. He’s never been a person who drank super heavily on a regular basis, unlike half of the party, but today he could do with a  _ drink.  _ The problem he always had, of course, was that if he did something stupid or got injured or kidnapped he had no way to actually communicate with anyone who might try to help and/or kill him, but today he’d decided fuckit, he was exhausted and stressed and wanted to drink with his family, and so he did.

 

They were very, very drunk.  He leaned on Vax’s shoulder, since the rogue was probably the least drunk because he hated being heavily drunk even more than Percy usually did.  He stumbled up the stairs after the elf, nearly falling before the grip on his wrist tightened into a side hug again and he was dragged to their rooms.  He hesitated in front of his own door, the quiet sort of worry in his chest making him not really want to deal with anything. Vax rolls his eyes and hauls the skinny man further down the hall to his room.  “Percival? You alright?” He dips his head, leaning it forward onto the rogue’s shoulder as Vax gives an amused hum. “Yeah, alright. Let’s get you in bed.” He strips Percy’s coat and vest off, then his boots, then tucks the pistol under his pillow and leans Bad News against the wall and, after shoving his own daggers under his pillow, curls up and goes to bed.   

He wakes up with Keyleth, in Minxie form, curled up between them.  She’s twitching and squirming in a way that Percy knows isn’t bad enough to be nightmares, so he dozes, scratching the backs of her ears and snuggling the warm tiger who’s at his side.  He stalks downstair, watching from the back as Kima huddles against the wall and shivers. She’s gulping down the potatoes so fast that he’s worried she’ll be sick, and there’s a general air of fear there that he doesn’t have a reason for which is also pretty concerning when he thinks about it.  

 

He volunteers to do the paperwork and Scanlan declares that he’s going to go with him.  Percy isn’t sure  _ why  _ but he’s pretty sure there’s a reason that will be made clear to him at some point.  They’re halfway there before he realizes that Scanlan can  _ barely  _ translate, and really can’t at all unless it’s finger spelling, which means this is going to be  _ exhausting.   _ The man who brings them to the office is kinder than he had expected, and Scanlan did his best to handle the talking and even limited the amount of shit jokes he made, which Percy was very glad for.  He grabbed his quill, starting in on the frightening pile of paperwork, gnome pacing on the floor next to him. At some point, he seems to give up, turning himself into a large cat and draping over Percy’s lap.  The human sighed, scratching a finger over the kitten’s ears, humming quietly as he tried to find a way to word “We were being chased by mind flayers” without wording it like that.

 

In the end, on Scanlan’s suggestion, he went with “We were bringing back a notable public figure and were concerned that those who kept her captive were chasing us” and left it at that.  He dropped off the paperwork, used a hand to help not-a-cat Scanlan up onto his shoulders, and set off down the street once more. Scanlan was always fun to go through the city with, because of how excited he got by various ridiculous things.  They were working their way back towards home when Scanlan darted off into an alleyway and Percy lost sight of him, scrambling after the gnome and ducking into the store that’s door was still swinging. He was met with the smell of chocolate and sugar and warmth and he keened happily, ignoring the pang of fear that was now fading.

 

They met back up at the keep with pockets full of chocolates and hard sweets to suck on and basically every type of candy in Emon. Scanlan was munching on some of the chocolate as Percy worked his way through some of the hard candy, dumping their sweets on the table as the two went to get cleaned up and get ready to see Allura.  Kima stole pieces of candy and cleaned her armor and glared at anyone who got close to her, so Percy flopped down in a chair near her side and just watched. The little halfling was still twitchy, one hand tight on her cloth the other clinging to her maul. Percy leaned back, munching on some of the chocolate he had bought from the  _ very nice  _ shopkeep who had  _ actually known a little sign language  _ which, that was like the second time ever someone who he’d just randomly bumped into who wasn’t now a member of Vox Machina had done that and he’d bought  _ far  _ too much chocolate out of sheer delight.

 

Now, he sat quietly and let Kima work, occasionally passing her pieces of chocolate whenever she glanced over in his direction.  He had a book on weather patterns, something Keyleth had recommended that was  _ so boring _ , open on his knees and was finally almost interested in it when Kima finally spoke up.  “You don’t have to fucking watch me you know, I’m fine.” Percy’s hands automatically twitches up to sign, then he grimaced and dropped them back to his lap before grabbing the spare parchment on the table and scrawling out “I can leave, if you want me to?  But I can stay, if you want me to.” He hesitated, then added another few lines. “If you want me to go, just say so.” Kima, who had been watching intently, just turned back to the armor under her hands as Percy turned back to his book and they sat, for as long as they could, in something close to comfortable silence.

 

Percy was packing his bags when Kima asked. He wasn’t surprised; the halfling was gruff, even if she was good, and way too fond of poking into other people’s business.  “Hey you, gun guy, why can’t you talk?” Percy grimaces, something sharp in his eyes, and Kima must see it because her expression softens slightly. “I’m sorry, was that rude?  That was rude. Fuck, Allie always tells me that.” She trails off, and he’s a little surprised to see genuine guilt on the paladin’s face. He ducked his head down, quill scratching quickly over paper.  “Not rude; just never had someone ask that wasn’t some idiot on the street before. Something bad happened; woke up, couldn’t talk. Mutism from trauma, according to a book I read once. It’s fine, it was a long time ago.”  Kima shifts to glance up at him and she must see something honest on his face because she wraps herself around his side for a moment before releasing him just as quickly. “If you ever tell anyone I apologized I’ll smash your face in.” She warns, and Percy grins slightly because that’s just so  _ Kima.   _

 

Percy would never say it, but the cloudtop district was his least favorite part of the city.  Percy knew he was noble blood, knew despite it all he still  _ acted  _ noble, but something about the primness of that district left him on edge.  It felt incredibly unwelcoming, and he had a very deep desire to run back to Greyskull as fast as he could.  Unfortunately, he was pretty sure the others had an issue with that, so he walked along leaning against Grog’s broad side and tried to get to the tower as fast as humanly possible, which was still a lot slower than Grog’s top speed.  

 

He wrapped his arms tightly around Allura, who had always been someone he respected greatly.  She’d never been anything but kind to them, even him, which was part of why he was thrilled to be able to return Kima to her in one piece.  The little halfling had been effectively hiding behind Grog, suddenly seeming almost nervous, but as soon as Vex finished Percy’s signed “We brought you a present” she’s hurtling herself forward into Allura’s arms, suddenly looking like the happiest person alive, and it’s so fucking adorable that he can’t help but wrap an arm around Vex and another around Vax and grin in absolute delight. 

 

Another thing he learned that day, beside how seriously adorable Kima and Allura were, was that Allura made the best tea on the face of the planet.  He forced himself to be a proper nobles boy, sipping happily on his glass while the others, except Tiberius, mostly ignored etiquette and gulped theirs down.  “It is good” he signs, and Vex opens her mouth to respond before Allura, somewhat nervously, signs back “Thank you, I make it.” Keyleth gave a squeal of delight, leaning into Percy’s thighs from her spot on the floor next to him, and Percy grinned in delight at the warmth in his chest.

 

Percy had been  _ pretty sure  _ for some time that Allura knew exactly who they had been and just didn’t want to tell them, and he only grew more certain as conversation continued and he more than once had to listen through a discussion on the idea of putting plants in a tower that had no lights and no rain, so the plants would  _ probably  _ die.  He finished off his tea and poured some more, drowning himself in tea instead of actually contributing to the conversation, since Vax and Keyleth and all the others seemed to have it quite covered.  “Terrible” he agrees, sharing a look with Kima, who seems equally exasperated with the fact that they haven’t stopped talking in what feels like forever.  

 

Percy had decided a long time ago that, however bad he and Keyleth were at communication, Tiberius was  _ so many times worse.  _ Because Percy was pretty sure that he would never in his right mind have say a sentence revealing that you had an artifact from an evil god if he’d been being  _ tortured,  _ much less for no reason whatsoever.  

 

Percy, for all his hatred of listening to people talk non stop for extended lengths of time, has a stubborn refusal to tune out during counsel meetings.  He wasn’t sure why, though he suspected it had something to do with the fact that, for all their flaws, they were all perfectly willing to wait the extra moment for him to sign and someone to translate, and that he had been  _ supposed  _ to be good at these, and some of that nobleman’s training remained.  

 

The back and forth was reaching the point that he was going to step in and say something, anything, again when he heard it.  Uriel half turned, handing a bundle of papers back to a boy and speaking. “Get these to Lady and Lord Briarwood As Soon As Possible.”

 

He doesn’t remember much after that, not until the meeting has ended and Keyleth’s hand on his elbow is hauling him to his feet and he tugs her with him towards Uriel.  He’s barely able to hide his shaking, and he’s pretty sure that Keyleth can feel it, but he keeps calm enough to pretend to be interested, nodding along. “That’s good to hear. I would love to...if you could, tell me next time they’re coming through, I’d like to surprise them?  We’re old friends,” His hands fall and he presses a little closer to Keyleth’s side, but the man doesn’t seem to notice as he nods. “Yes, of course lad, thank you for your good work, that’s good to hear.”

 

Keyleth is blinking in wide-eyed concern as they duck out of the building, breath sharp in her lungs.  “Perce, breathe, you’re ok, you’re fine.” Vex hurries to their side, but Percy gives a desperate shake of his head and a signed “not here.”  Vex nods, seeming to understand as she beckons the others to them. They almost form a circle around Percy, Grog shoving through the crowd as Vex and Vax flank him and Keyleth huddles behind, with the gnomes gripping her cape to keep from being left behind.  Allura has been trailing them but after a few moments, she jogs to get ahead of them, eyes concerned. “Come with me.”

 

They do.  Percy ducks into the tower clinging to Vex’s sleeve, making it to the couch before he slumps down and starts to shake.  Allura turns away, giving them their privacy as the twins bracket the crying human Keyleth is flapping fearfully and so Allura turns to her, because that’s something she can  _ do,  _ and offers a tired smile.  “Would you like to help me make tea?”  The druid gives a grateful nod, scrambling after her.  Pike is having an in depth conversation with Kima about their gods, while Scanlan tries to get her attention and just makes himself look like an idiot.  “So, Keyleth, what kind of plants could survive in here do you think?” Allura questioned, ignoring Kima’s loud groan as the half elf dove happily into a conversation about the types of vines that she thought would look super cool.

 

Percy couldn’t think.  He knew he was hyperventilating, he could feel the way his chest was heaving and strong arms were holding him and he knew dully that he was safe but he couldn’t think, couldn’t breathe or move or exist.  He choked on air, shuttering and lashing out frantically against the hands that tried to hold him. Somewhere in the back of his mind, his brain was screaming that these were _friends,_ but all his exhausted mind saw was _Ripley Ripley Ripley,_ with her scalpels and her wicked grin and he pulls desperately against the restraints but they won’t give him any ability to get away.

 

“Grog.  Can you restrain him?”  Grog’s eyes were wide, but Vax didn’t hesitate; Percy was thrashing against his grip, clawing lines into his flesh and keening in agony and that wasn’t going to end well for anyone. Grog’s eyes were wide with worry but he seemed to understand, reaching out a big hand and tugging Percy into his arms and holding him tightly.  Percy gave a few more desperate thrashes against his arms before going limp, and Vex’s heart throbbed in her chest because it wasn’t a better limp it was...resignment. “Percival, it’s alright, we’ve got you, you’re right here, you’re perfectly safe.” She soothes, fairly sure that it’s not making a difference but wanting to try anyway.  She glanced around, making a noise of relief when she realized the others were out of the room, because Keyleth panicking wouldn’t help the situation.

 

When Allura got back to the room, she was incredibly ready to throw Scanlan out the window, because he was now singing obnoxiously in his best attempt to cheer everyone up.  Percy was slumped boneless and asleep in Grog’s arms as Vex and Vax sat tangled together on the other side of the couch, looking fairly exhausted. Keyleth immediately scrambles onto the couch and curls up against Grog’s other side, wrapping one of her hands around Percy’s and cuddling up against both him and the goliath.  Allura passed out tea and the whole family sat for a few long moments. And then Scanlan turned to make a dick joke and Pike groaned, flopping over Vex’s knees and Vax and Kima started an arm wrestling content a mournful Grog couldn’t dislodge Percy long enough to enter and, for the quiet moments, they were happy. 


	11. Guns! And Sky Ships! And also Gilmore

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Enter, Gilmore! And also Percy really loves skyships, and Scanlan's stomach really does not. Aka I wanted to write Scanlan angst and Percy trying (badly) to be good at taking care of people is adorable.

Percy had always liked Gilmore.  He didn’t like him quite as much as Vax did, but he was pretty sure that the rogue would kill anyone who _ looked  _ at Gilmore wrong, so he was alright with that fact.  “We need potions.” he points out, fingers flying in the sunlight as he gives a delighted grin to the others at the idea of two days off, elbow firmly locked around one of Keyleth’s arms.  “Days off!” he hears Grog bellow off to one side and rolls his eyes affectionately, knowing he was going to have to drag him and Pike and Keyleth and probably Scanlan away from whatever bar they managed to find themselves in, but not particularly minding when he saw how delighted the others seemed to be.

 

Emon had, thankfully, never reminded him too much of Whitestone.  Of course, this was helped by the fact that he was the very definition of an indoor child and had probably been through the actual city no more than four to six times a year since he was old enough to read and write and work, since he spent most of his days hiding in his workshop or in the library.  The well-off districts of Emon were beautiful, with large, elegant homes and posh stores, with prices that would make Vex have a heart attack if she saw them. But while those were nice enough, ignoring Greyskull, Gilmore’s shop was far and away his favorite place in the city.  

 

Once they managed to wrestle Vax away from Kima’s attempts to convert him to being a follower of Bahamut, the walk to Gilmore’s store was easy as could be.  Vax combed his fingers through his hair for a moment and did his best to relish in that, before ducking inside and moving up to the counter with a raised-hand greeting to Shirley and a grin as soon as Gilmore appeared from the back of the shop.  The man was a constant whirlwind of color and movement and it all sort of blended together with his lovely personality and made him someone Percy was quite fond of.

 

He gave a cheeky “be careful!” to Vax as the man linked his arm with Gilmore and led him out; Vax gave him the finger in response.  Keyleth grinned, linking her arm with his and leaning into Percy’s side with a sigh as they listen to Vex play her game. Vex was never happier than when she was bartering, and the others generally saw fit to just let her do it.  Grog looked ready to use his sword to stab  _ himself  _ out of sheer boredom, sitting against the wall sharpening his sword and glaring furiously.  Pike was tucked onto his shoulder doing her best Sympathetic Friend impression while still bickering kindly with Scanlan.

 

Percy practically was salivating when he saw the tome.  He reached to tug on Vex’s wrist but she was already turning to grin at him, dipping her head.   “I take it you’d be interested in that, Percival?” He gives a sharp nod, a quick thank you, and turns his attention back to looking at the various rings with the others who were quietly debating what it was that they needed versus what they just  _ wanted.   _ Percy was of the opinion that  _ any  _ ring of protection should be purchased if at all possible, but the others had made a good point that having  _ money  _ was also a good thing.

 

By the time Vax returned, Percy was ready to join Grog in the “we should stab ourselves so we can get the fuck out of here” brigade.  He was slumped against the goliath’s side sort of awkwardly in the corner, listening to Vex argue about the price of a sword or something, he’d sort of given up.  Keyleth had ended up at the bookcases flipping through books on plants and magics, occasionally turning to ask Percy what one of the stranger words meant. Gilmore and Vax were both flushed, grinning and bright-eyed, and Percy was once again struck with how bloody cute they’d be together.  He settled back in against Grog’s muscular chest, letting the bigger man effectively keep him propped up, and waited for a definitely drunk Vax to stop flirting long enough for them to finish shopping.  

 

It was nice, to have a few days to just  _ build.   _ Percy didn’t leave the workshop for two days after they got back from the Council and Gilmore’s, trying as hard as he could to get as many things done as he could before crossed an  _ ocean,  _ which was very exciting.  Keyleth, who had long since learned that dragging Percy out of his room was unlikely to go well, spent the two days sprawled in a chair in the corner, new books on harvesting animals and plants open on her lap.  She vanishes a few times, returning with food that she effectively forces the white-haired man to eat and talks loudly to fill the otherwise clanging silence when Percy is drawing rather than smithing and hitting things with hammers.

 

He feels proud when he builds like this.  This is something  _ he’s  _ made, not some foolish fevered dream, not something he’d read in a book.  Things like the arrow were his and they helped keep his family alive. It was also a welcome distraction from the terror in the back of his mind at the Briarwood’s names, and he was incredibly grateful that Keyleth hadn’t brought them up again since it seemed that she sensed something was bad in those memories.  By the end of nearly two days of non-stop work, Percy was squirming in delight as he carefully wrapped up the arrows and left them on the table for Vex before going to bed for at least ten hours.

 

The skyship was  _ incredible.   _ Percy spent most of his time trying to draw out sketches of ones that incorporated  _ machinery  _ as well as the arcane, and by the time they reached their destination, he had a large book of designs shoved into his bag to the point that he sort of needed another book and more parchment.  Keyleth seemed to enjoy the air as well; it must be nice, Percy realized, to know that you can not fall to death off of a boat. Scanlan, on the other hand, spent most of the week violently ill.  Despite his bravado and the fact he would probably insist that nothing could phase him, Scanlan was not someone who did well on moving vehicles. He’d never even been one for riding in the cart, which was clear from the way he would always complain his head off about them, but that was manageable at least.  

 

On the boat, he slunk down into Percy’s quarters about halfway through the first day pale as a sheet and shivering rather violently.  Percy took one look at the gnome, sighed, and lifted up his heavy tome to allow Scanlan to slump into his lap and curl up in a ball. Percy hummed, what he hoped was low enough to be soothing, and sort of draped a hand over Scanlan’s back, fingers working at the tense muscles as he set his book down and settled back against the wall.

 

As interesting as he found skyships to be, Percy would be very pleased if he never had to fight on one ever again.  The threat of falling and dying combined with the fact that the boat always had a slight movement that threw off his shots left him frustrated by the end, relieved that Keyleth had been the only one thrown and that the others had fought well despite what he decided were somewhat absurd conditions.  

 

Afterward, Keyleth slipped into his quarters after him, curling up with her head on his hip as Scanlan whimpers miserably and slumped in his lap.  “Shh, I know.” Percy signed, one hand rubbing awkwardly against the gnome’s shoulders. He’s not even sure why he’s signing; Scanlan is both face-down and speaks very little sign language, but it makes  _ him  _ feel better.  Keyleth thankfully seems to get it, rolling over to ask “Are you alright, Scanlan?”  Percy turned back to his book, quietly spending the rest of the evening listening to the Druid’s quiet voice talking to the fairly still gnome and reading his book.  He dozed off like that, head resting on Keyleth’s shoulder and hands resting against Scanlan’s boney spine.

 

Scanlan scared Percy.  He was so unbelievably just, able to throw himself into every situation with a smile and a tilt of his head and he was so tiny Percy was generally worried whatever monster they fought was going to crush him.  Scanlan also had a habit of sprawling on top of the first person he could find and cuddling up in their arms or lap or perching on their shoulders (that was Mostly just Grog’s). In fact, that was really their most effective way to get Scanlan to stop being an idiot and doing something he shouldn’t do; one of them, probably Grog or Vex, would tug him back into their lap and let him curl up like a slightly too big cat.  

 

Keyleth  _ loved  _ when Scanlan would snuggle up in her lap enjoying the warmth and weight, but Scanlan had always seemed to prefer Percy between the two of them.  He made a note to ask why some time, though not today. It was the fifth day on the skyship, and Scanlan seemed  _ miserable.   _ Even Keyleth’s healing magics had been unable to help, which was somewhat unfortunate, so Percy had spent the morning trying to comfort the gnome as he alternated between violently ill and curled up shaking.  “I am bad with sick people” He signed, and Keyleth softened, snuggling into his side with a kind hum, “You are not! You took good care of me that time!” She protests, and Percy snorts.

 

Keyleth’s definition of Good was not the same as his, apparently, since he remembered the week she had the flu as a week of his own misery, Keyleth being sick and feverish and  _ miserable.   _ Keyleth didn’t do well sick; she had spent the entire time nonverbal and overstimulated to the point that Percy could barely touch her, which meant being helpful had been hard.  Compared to that, Scanlan was easy; the gnome was perfectly happy to sleep most of the time, as long as he could be curled up in Percy or, but less happily, Keyleth’s lap. The problem was that made it literally impossible for Percy to do anything since the book was heavy enough his lap was the only good place to put it.  Keyleth was crafting scrolls, head bent as her fingers worked at the air, some combination of magic and sign that never ceased to amaze Percy. He didn’t want to interrupt, so he just carefully set the book down and turned back to his sketching, letting his mind dive into sky ship design and wonder what it might be like to design something beautiful.


End file.
